One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” ― Albert Einstein
I am back in Antioquia. About an hour from where I spent over a year living. I was hesitant to come back to this area.
I wanted to avoid Antioquia altogether, but in my heart, I knew that would be a mistake. First, there is a reason so many people want to live in this area and move here.
I am not in the city; I am sitting in a small hostel on the side of a mountain, and you can hear the river running. The birds sing; the only noise at night is the river and the occasional gecko calling out.
Yesterday, as I sat on the bus, I wondered how I would feel being back here, as when I left, I was in tears. However, as the bus circled the corner and I saw the valley and the mountains, I again began to tear up, happy tears.
As my heart knew, this was what it recognized as home. I need nothing but myself and to be surrounded by this incredible nature.
Yesterday I went on a walk, searching for houses for sale or rent. As I walked, I saw red birds, blue birds, white birds, and yellow birds, the birds I remember sitting on my front porch as the day began, with the birds waking me up.
I remembered walking my evening walks as the birds said goodnight.
As I continued walking, I even saw monkeys playing in the trees. I stood and watched them jump from branch to branch without a care.
I forgot how diverse this region is. Once you leave the city, it is a different world.
Most who take this route get off at Guatapé, as it is about an hour and a half away, and it is the tourist destination of the area.
Yet if you continue on the bus, only a few of us are left and get to experience this country’s natural treasures.
When I first arrived in this area, I thought I was brought here by love, and I now realize I was.
However, it was not to see passion in another but to find it within myself and my surroundings. As soon as I saw these mountains, something inside my heart said, you are home.
Even though it is not the same place I once lived, that was not my home; it is nature, the mountains, and this area is saturated with them, the same mountains I woke up looking at, the same feeling every time I see them.
And each bird I talk to on my walk. The weather is perfect; there is no need for a jacket, the water is all around, and the lushness of its vegetation is impressive.
As I was walking, I had a mission, yet I saw very few houses with for sale signs, so I decided to start asking.
When my walk was over, I stopped at the local tienda, and a man started asking me where I went and if I enjoyed my walk. I said it is so beautiful here, but I am looking for somewhere to live, so I did not go to the waterfall; instead, I was searching.
He looked at me and said I have three houses for sale up the road. Do you want to see them?
I said yes, but not then, as it was late, and I did not want to see them in the dark.
So today, I will return to the tienda as he owns it and ask the woman working there to call him so he can show me what he has to offer me. I know one house is only half an acre, the other 3 hectares, and the other is 7 hectares (3 hectares is what I have in mind).
However, I am still deciding.
He also asked me what I was looking for, to live, to rent, and I said to live with animals and a garden. His eyes lit up, and he was like I have the perfect one, so today I will see if he has the perfect one, but so far, I am on the right path.
I also met a man at my hostel; his girlfriend has bees and teaches people how to care for and for them. I dream of having a bee farm with my house surrounded by lavender and flowers.
I have been overanalyzing this process for so long, and all it took was me asking one question, as in Colombia, it is all about talking to people and being open to seeing what they have to say.
Some days, I worry about a long-term visa and what type I qualify for, and then I stop. I decided it would all work out; what is my worst-case scenario?
I buy a retirement home and a home I can live in 6 months out of the year.
There are so many opportunities when you stop focusing on the negative and focus on the possibilities.
When I was here before, I also thought no one was connected to nature; I was simply meeting and talking to the wrong people.
This time around, every single person I meet is conscious of the nature they are surrounded by and taking care of it for future generations. Before, my mind was closed, and I was afraid to go out and talk to those and see what they were doing.
Now I embrace it, plus I think it simply comes through who I am, and those I encounter are on the same wave. Life is fantastic when you stop and think about it, and it is usually reflected by those who show up in your life, usually by chance or random.
I am paying attention now and, yet again, continue to follow the breadcrumbs that I believe my higher self has laid out before me.
XOXO
S
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