I recently traveled to Paris to celebrate my husband’s and my 50th birthdays. This trip was a surprise in many ways that had nothing to do with the view from the Tour de Eiffel. What I saw instead was my life values — shinning, glittering signs of what is important to me at this life path juncture in my personal growth and spiritual expansion.

From inward exploration to outward discovery

What stood out most prominently, as I walked the tree-lined Champs de Elysees and climbed to the top of Notre Dame was that my life has transitioned significantly. As I appreciated what I was experiencing and seeing about me, I also missed the inward focus that has become so much of my daily life. For the last decade my life path has been about my intention to connect to intuition and soulful creativity for the benefit of my unfolding growth and for the benefit of client’s movement toward their own goals.

Yet, in a city as big and boisterous as Paris — a city that demands to be noticed — I found myself managing the moments of my life in a very outward way. There was the metro-taking, stair-climbing, art-viewing, shop-admiring, cafe-choosing, cigarette smoke-avoiding, park-strolling, foreign language-trying aspects to this travel life that put me into a reality of extreme outward stimulation.

Yet, even as alien as all this sustained outward focus felt at times, I realized that the contrast to my more inwardly lived life was magnificently informative.

• First, it made me fully appreciate the gentler, closer-to-nature existence of my current life in Seattle. My gratitude was fully ignited with a new alive energy. This is not something I expected at all from the City of Lights, but I felt very gifted for it.
• I saw how far I had traveled on my life path. I appreciated how all the years of personal growth and spiritual expansion had landed me in alignment with my authentic self. From that place I could appreciate what resonated with me in this new place and could observe and learn from what was not resonating. Very surprising and fascinating stuff.
• This trip reaffirmed that all the travel, both inward and outward, we do in life has fantastic merit. Each path we take, literally and energetically through choices, highlights values, inspirations and motivation. That kind of clarity helps you to know whether you are a true path or whether you need to make course corrections.
• Getting out of one’s comfort zone is a great soul stretch. Growth sparks get generated from managing one’s energy in new and challenging ways. When you aren’t in your usual place, it’s harder to fall back on your usual behavior. And, your brain works harder! As you traverse new streets and speak a new language, you’re also creating new neural pathways.
• It’s a reminder to use the tools and practices you’ve learned along your life path, too. I’m an energy sponge so it would have been good to use some energy-protecting practices before the last day!
• A new environment shows you your strengths, and weaknesses, in a new light. With self-awareness this is a great personal growth opportunity. I know that I will travel even more mindfully from now on.

Seeing your life with refreshed vision

Most of all, I realized that it’s good to invite contrast into my life. From contrast I experience life from a new perspective that actually wakes me up in new and exciting ways. From this contrast I saw how I had matured from romantic daydreams into the full reality of my dream life. Talk about feeling blessed!

Each adventure is part chosen and part unknown. And that is a good reflection of our life path in general. We can consciously chose one step at a time but we don’t know for sure what’s at the end of the journey. Stay curious and take new paths. There’s always value in the exploration and discovery.

Melissa Wadsworth is a creative personal growth visionary, author and inspirational speaker. She helps clients go from Blocked to BrilliantTM by developing their intentional awareness, creative intuition and authentic vision. Get your inspired gift at http://www.melissawadsworth.com.