The Darkness is Where the Light Shines Through

It's been a pretty hectic past 15 days traveling from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway. It's been an incredible trip. Truthfully, probably one of my favorites.

While there were certainly places and adventures that stick out as unforgettable (dog sledding, the ice hotel, traveling to the fjords, and meeting Santa himself!), it's always the lessons and the perspectives that I gain on these quests that make them so unforgettable.

You Must Experience the Dark to Fully Appreciate the Light

While most people run for the hills during winter in Scandinavia, I ran towards it. The lack of sunlight was actually a big reason I chose this adventure, knowing full well it would change my perspective on how I value my days.

For the past two weeks I've had minimal hours of sunlight. For the two to three hours it was daytime the skies were covered with clouds and were totally gray.  The shortness of days made me more aware of how to take advantage of them. The nights made me appreciate the beauty of the moon and the lights gleaming in the winter markets.

It was interesting to not be a slave to the hours of light in a day but to listen to your body when it was tired, hungry, or awake. I'd be walking around town famished and tired, thinking it was 11pm but realizing it was only mid afternoon. In the long dark days that I was not accustomed to, my internal clock spoke louder than man-made time and customs.

I embraced the darkness for most of my trip and really relished in it being so foreign to me. Many people never experience this phenomenon and I was spending the winter solstice in complete darkness. As the novelty wore off I began missing having full days to call my own and not having to race against the moon.

It was no coincidence that I brought the book "The Dark Side of the Light Chasers" which is about embracing every aspect of yourself…the dark and the light qualities that make you whole. The author talks about how we must embrace the dark qualities that we hide from ourselves and others out of shame. We're conditioned to not express anger, jealousy, envy, or other characteristics that are deemed dark and ugly.

We all possess certain qualities that we hide from everyone by developing an ego that overcompensates for them. By embracing these dark qualities we may then start to see the blessings and how they have protected us throughout the years...helping us to step into the light.

Developing a Growth Mindset Gives You Total Freedom

Honestly before this trip, I put a ton of limitations on myself. One of the biggest limitations/fears was taking public transportation. I always have hated reading maps and would make up any excuse not to be the person in charge of directions. On this trip I had to face one of my biggest fears.... feeling OUT OF CONTROL!

Being by myself, I had no one to lean on and had to trust in myself that I would figure it out. What a blessing in disguise! By the end of my trip I was riding trains, buses, ferry's....you name it!

I even bypassed taking a Norwegian tour of the Fjords because I knew I could hack it on my own. Instead, I went to the tours site and just mapped out all of the places they expected to go, mimicking their every move. This saved me at least $200, but more importantly it made me excited that I could do it on my own!

Noticing and Appreciating the Gifts That Will Last a Lifetime

My father's an excellent singer and some of my favorite memories as a child revolved around music. As I grew older, almost every time he sang tears would stream down my face. I never knew why I was so emotional until this trip.

Every country I visited and every cobblestone street and restaurant I entered played Christmas music that reminded me of my dad and home. Every old holiday song sang by a crooner, sounded exactly like him! I realized that no matter where I was, he would always be with me. I would always be able to hear his voice in the music and what a gift that was for me.

You are Your Best Companion

I've spent most of my life helping and catering to others, bringing communities together, and constantly being surrounded by people. I was raised to work the room and to be the extrovert that networks like crazy.

As I've gotten older, I'm getting more and more comfortable in the silence and starting to enjoy my own thoughts. I rarely give myself permission to do this in "real life" because in my mind I always "have to be on." When I do solo trips, I relish in not having to take care of anyone else and doing exactly what I want to do.

But most importantly, I love to think about everything! It actually gives me permission to take in my surroundings and truly analyze my experiences without anyone else's judgements.

There's a ton of self love attached to solo travel...a lot of time to get to know yourself on a deeper level with a ton of compassion. I think this is why travel is one of my biggest passions.

Allow Yourself to Be Overtaken With Awe! 

I had so many moments on this trip where I felt like a little kid again and was in complete awe. One of my biggest dreams was to ice fish and as I was carving my hole in the lake, it brought back so many memories of when I used to fish as a little kid. 

Meeting Santa brought back so many memories of sheer excitement for his sleigh to arrive. When I actually sat next to him to take our picture, I was overcome with emotion just remembering how beautiful that belief in him was.

Dog sledding overtook my senses as the cold air whipped against my face and I was overtaken by excitement as we whisked off into the forest. Even the quick friendly glances of strangers completely made my day and had me feeling grateful and alive!