eat-exercise-explore

Category: Still Exploring

  • Living from the Inside-Out

    What is powering the life you now live?

    I’m going to go ahead and say Happy New Yearrrrr…even though it’s the 10th of February! hehehehe, new has no expiry date 😀

    I have been eager to share something that’s been brewing in me since the end of 2025. I don’t think it’s anything we haven’t in some variation heard before, but hopefully it’ll bless you.

    At the end of 2025, one of the questions that kept coming up for me was ‘what is powering the needs and wants that I now have? This life you want, what is the source of its desire?’

    Sometimes, us wanting things is only to fill up our lives because we are still trying to make sense of it, and so it’s better to fill it up and be busy than for it to be “empty”.

    You’re trying to make sense of your life, but you’re looking outside! Even with community service, and volunteering, and helping those in need, and choosing the most noble profession, if the getting of it is what makes you feel ‘whole’, you’re still living from the outside-in.

    The best version of who you’ll ever be is already in you. Truly, when the things you want are lovely, and noble, and kind, and helpful, that is an indication of a right path, but the understanding that you’re already where you want to go is what will make it living from the inside-out. In the bible, there is a verse that says to seek God first, and everything else, the day-to-day life things, will be added. I believe that passage is agreeing with me today. Be first, before you do.

    I currently have 101 needs and wants…and counting, but i’m finding the vulnerability in examining them again and again and again, until they reflect the Light i’m made of. It is never the ‘thing’ that makes you, it is your identity that gives life to the ‘thing.’

    There is worth in sitting still, in letting go of what looks real and then welcoming what is pouring out of you. Your inside is always speaking, I pray for the acceptance to start listening, to continually seek, to let go of the ‘shoulds’, to truly be, and then to do.

    It is a process, but a worthy journey. I’m rooting for you…and for me lol.

    I’ll see you soon…keep exploring.

    All my love,

    Queenet.

  • Let’s Start with Paris…

    I have been thinking of the perfect place to start…haven’t found it yet, so i’m starting with the story that’s foremost in my mind, and luckily it carries the essence of the blog. So let’s dive in shall we?

    I’ve always wanted to go to Rome. It’s one of the oldest cities in the world, and immersing myself in that history is something i’ve dreamt of doing…still is. So, that’s what I was going to do this year; take a trip to a place i’ve dreamt of for a long time. Howeverrr, the process to get a visa there was going to take a while, and I didn’t want to wait that long. This is how Paris became a topic. It was supposed to be a means to an end, pass through the city on my way to my final destination.

    I booked my train for the end of July. When i got to Gare du Nord (The North Station), i felt it instantly. It took me a while to name the feeling, but after the 15 minutes walk to my Airbnb, and the stumble up the 4-flights of stairs to my room, and after seeing my room and the bay windows overlooking the grounds, and the stroll around the area looking for an adapter and a supermarket open at that time of night, and the shop keeper saying ‘bonsoir’ i could finally name it. In this place that I had arrived by myself, i felt like a part of it; the feeling of Home.

    My Beautiful Airbnb

    The next 2 days were some of my best times so far. I visited the Arc d’triumphe, the eiffel tower, the sacre coeur, took a boat ride on the siene, and walked around so much, i felt like a local. It also meant so much to me that I took the public transport, it made me feel unafraid, like i was evolving into a me i really needed.

    The Siene
    Arc de Triomphe
    The Louvre
    My ‘explore’ reminder
    Outside Sacre Coeur
    Inside Sacre Coeur

    There is magic in that city, the exact kind i needed. I didn’t know what a solo trip without an agenda would look like for me and I worried it’d be a waste. I’m not a stranger to doing things by myself and I enjoy it, but I had packed my bags, and travelled to another Country for the sole purpose of…nothing, lol. I was nervous. I wanted to explore places and pastries, but I kept thinking of what it’d feel like. Turns out Paris was waiting with open arms and being a tourist is fun.

    There is magic in that city, the kind you can feel. On my last day, a few hours before my train left, my entire experience was crowned with a reminder of what ‘much more than enough’ means. I sent the gist to one of my closest friends, Elsa, and I have a screenshot of the message:

    The Storyyy
    Part of the market!
    The market I stumbled upon!

    There is a level of surrender that exploring requires for it to produce the wonder we all want from discovering new things. It’s the surrender to admit you don’t know, and ask for help, the surrender to not be afraid of missing your turn and starting again because the destination is that important, the surrender to assume the best in people, having faith that when you ask a stranger for help, it will surely be given. Exploring parts of Paris reminded me of that. The release of inhibitions if you want to get to the destination, because you cannot do it alone.

    Oh but the magic in that city, and the grace of God, and the July Sun, and all the pastries, and all the walking, they loved on me exactly how I needed, and i will forever be grateful.

    I’m still going to get to Rome and immerse myself in it, but Paris, for welcoming me with the most unexpected ‘much more than enough’ wonder, thank you.

    For anyone thinking of going anywhere, Go, and if there are detours, lol, even better.

    See you soon.

    All my Love,

    Queenet.