Tenerife is the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, and pretty much the warmest place in Europe during winter. I’ve had the pleasure of being there again a week or so ago… and it almost feels like home. Yet again, it was like a fairy tale. Think I’ve been there almost ten times, and I’ll keep going.
The 2nd time I was there it was just en route to a smaller Canary Island called La Gomera, where I did a 3-day no food retreat in a forest. With a Shaman’s guidance I did a form of one the old Native American rite of passages… It was at first boring, then frightening, then eye-opening… No psychedelics were involved btw, but I guess it felt similar after 3 days with no food and only ants and my thought-demons to keep me company.
My 4th visit to Tenerife was very special too… It was November 2017. I remember I was there with my ex gf and we were at this beach club sipping on a barraquito and watching the sunset. There was no Hustler marketing yet. I remember I closed a $4,000 dollar deal a few days before which was an almost unimaginable amount of money. I didn’t know too much about business yet I felt invincible and like I could take on the whole world. I was very naive and ignorant. I think that ignorance helped. If I knew what was following, I’d probably cancel that vacation and go prepare for the apocalypse following… But back then, it felt like I was as free as a bird.
This time, I believe the 7th visit, I felt very calm and free as a bird too. But this time with awareness and in a responsible way. I knew that our company has the right processes and that my team is trained and involved – and that they really care. Despite getting a bit sick I had a blast. An epic road trip, a ton of barraquitos, autumn sun and lots of great company. What I loved in particular was what you see on the picture. The morning view from that balcony over the palm trees and the ocean in the horizon. That together with some tasty Nespresso coffee made for me, it felt like heaven.
What’s the point of this story? Nothing mind blowing really, just a personal introspection I am letting you peek into. I believe introspection is the key to a good life.
Don’t get me wrong, introspection is not always “oh look how far I’ve come, life is great” type of thing. In a lot of the cases introspection is “did I treat that person fairly” or “well today I really fucked up with my day…” Or discovering that I have some deep rooted anger that I’ll need to deal with, or that I’ve been very hard on myself for a very long time…
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but it’s life. We change all the time, whether we choose to see it or not. The only constant is change. Whether you call it Personal Growth or the cleansing fire, catharsis, journey to the underworld… The sages of the past knew this well.
So be brave. And be kind to yourself (forget about others for a while). Know thyself. Because well, YOLO, so make it count. And go to Tenerife if you can, it’s great.
Drop some love (or a sun emoji
) if you enjoyed reading this.
Peace 
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