I love getting surprised. By a city. By a person. By an experience.
To be honest, I was NOT looking forward to spending August in Belgrade, Serbia…especially while I was launching the 4th round of my group program, Marketing Mastery.
I thought it would be hot and ugly. Like the redheaded step-child of eastern Europe.
Especially after spending July in Prague (which is basically a real-life version of the game Candyland, I had a beautiful 2-bedroom apartment to myself and worked from a gorgeous converted embassy) I was expecting August to be a major let down…
But then I got here…and I kinda don’t hate it.
- Belgrade does coffee like nobody’s business. Chilling outside for hours on end at a bar that only serves coffee? Totally normal. And I really, really like my caffeine…
- They party…on the water! If you know me you know that I’m the opposite of a club person…but it’s not for reasons people might think. I actually LOVE bouncing around and talking to people…and the dance floor is totally my happy place…but I just hate being confined in a dark crowded room. And I don’t process alcohol well. Like worse than anyone I know. On top of that, when I’m at a bar or club, it’s like my intuition and energetic sensitivity go on overdrive and while everyone around me is numbing out and letting loose, I can feel all their stuff…it’s weird.
But outdoor clubs on the water?! I really, really like them. I also think there just this growing comfort with the people I’m traveling with where I can order a latte while everyone else is downing champagne and nobody gives a fuck. And I like it. I guess that was always true but there’s something about traveling with people for 6 months that just allows you to fully relax into who you are around them. - I’m making friends with the gritty…in every area of my life. It’s interesting that I’m visiting the “ugliest” city of my year long trip during the time when my anxiety has been at an all-time high with my group program launch. Coincidence? I think not. But I’m realizing that just because a physical place or an emotional state isn’t traditionally “beautiful”, doesn’t mean it isn’t BEAUTIFUL. My anxt-y, shaddow-y side is proving to be an excellent marketing advisor (apparently people like it when you tell the truth about your pain and struggles? Who knew!)
Sometimes the beauty is in the complexity, the contrast, the mix of all the things together that makes life more dynamic and interesting.
Kind of like this #nofilter view from my kitchen window of the sun setting over the gritty Belgrade Skyline.
Anyhow…that’s what I’m thinking about this Tuesday morning…how about you? What’s present? What’s moving through?