Travel & Life Lessons

Turning a different direction

"You can not change the direction and the forces of the wind. But you can change the setting of your own sail." - Jim Rohn

This year I spent January in La Paz with a travel buddy and learned one of those lessons that only happens when you’re mindlessly going about your life.

ReAnn and I had been in La Paz for about two weeks and every day my morning walk took me straight out my door toward the malecón along the bay. That’s where the action was … the fishermen going out for the day, locals and tourists strolling, the sun rising, the restaurants opening. The only time I turned right was if I needed to go to the grocery store or my favorite breakfast place.

However, one day ReAnn said she found a restaurant that sounded interesting in an area we hadn’t explored. It meant turning left. So, on an afternoon walk, I turned left. For three blocks, it was the rather uninteresting area I expected to see. And then, stunning murals showed up.

Including a school yard full of mural children that stopped me as I met each child on that broad panel.

United we are stronger.

To be woman … is everything

I exist because I resist

Crying is also a cry of war

Do not forget that you can

I had been enjoying my time in La Paz but thinking of it as being “Mexico lite,” not the real Mexico I had lived in for two years. A simple thing such as turning left, took me into a school yard where I could feel the heart of this place in what they are trying to teach their children.

All because I ventured down a different direction.

In the meantime …