S4: Ep: 60 Dancing with Destiny: My Balinese TaS4: Ep 60 le

What if overcoming your deepest fears could unlock a world of adventure and self-discovery? Join me, Kate, on Infinite Love of the Goat, as I recount the thrilling final day of my Bali escapade. From celebrating my best friend's birthday from miles away to an adrenaline-pumping underwater helmet walk, my journey in Bali was nothing short of transformative. With Ahmad's expertise guiding me, I was immersed in Bali's vibrant tapestry of culture, history, and mouthwatering cuisine. Overcoming my ear issues to explore the underwater realm felt like a triumphant redemption, especially after my harrowing snorkeling experience in the Bahamas. 

As I unwind poolside, I revel in the bliss of spontaneous choices, like savoring a mesmerizing Balinese dancer performance instead of a planned outing. Preparing for my long flight back, I share quirky insights about navigating deep pools and indulging in the luxury of a private one. With humor and gratitude, I contrast the opulent Southeast Asian airports with the more rugged O'Hare Airport. This episode is a heartfelt reminder to believe in yourself, break free from the chains of self-sabotage, and pursue your dreams with relentless passion. Don’t miss this inspiring tale of self-discovery, laughter, and the beauty of taking action.

Transcript

Underwater Adventures and Gratitude

Speaker 1 0:00

Hey everyone , it's Kate , and welcome back to another episode of Infinite Love of the Goat . Before I even begin , I want to give a big shout out to my best friend at home , whose birthday is today . Well , I think it's today . Obviously , being across the world , time change has really , really messed with my head . So , wherever you are , as long as it's July 14th , I wish you a happy 44th birthday , my friend . Okay , where do I even begin today ? Honestly , I'm in a very zen mood , somber , maybe a little bit , as I'm already packed , and I'm quite tired because I was laying on all day enjoying the full life of my last day here in Bali , indonesia . What an incredible experience . I don't even know where to begin , honestly .

Speaker 1 0:54

A lot of self-reflection took place , a lot of laughter , a little bit of setbacks , but nothing too crazy but , most importantly , a lot of recentering balance and peace , relaxation . Everything on vacation is supposed to be rejuvenation of the soul , pouring back into myself , and I did that . I did that for the entire three weeks . I did that when I wasn't feeling well in Singapore . I did that even here in Bali . In fact , bali was go , go , go , go go . I had an amazing tour guide , ahmad . This is a shout out to you . What a gentle soul . He just wanted to make sure I was so busy and I saw as much of Bali as I could and he gave me that experience and majority of the time he didn't have to . He just added extra days into my already beautiful package deal and he took me all over Bali and I got to experience culture , arts , history , religion , spirituality and the views and the food cannot forget the food . I got to experience the hidden gems , the waterfalls . Then I got to experience the underwater world , the magic . I felt like scuba steve .

Speaker 1 2:20

It was funny , but I tried something new , I tried something different and since I can't go scuba diving because I'm already deaf in one ear and I have poor pressure and obviously I don't want to lose my hearing in my good ear , there was this underwater maybe I don't know what you would call it underwater partial scuba where you wear the helmet and it's connected to a cord that gives you , provides you oxygen , but you're freely allowed to walk around . So I said , why not ? Was I nervous ? Yes , um , I'm gonna give a huge shout out to alex , who didn't speak the greatest english but was so gentle , such a young soul and just you can tell he's like just in the prime of his life and he's such a young soul and just you can tell he's like just in the prime of his life and he's such a free spirit and loves to be underwater .

Speaker 1 3:10

Anyways , he he was giving me all the sign language , which I understood easily , and he reassured me that you could pop your ear wearing this helmet , because all you have to do is stick your hand underneath and then be able to blow , which is great , because it was a little intense even for me . So you're going down the stairwell , you're already in the water it's freezing , you know . You don't have time to think about it though . So you're in the water . This weighted helmet is just kind of taking you down , but you're , you're reminded to go very , very slow , and alex is kind of , you know , guiding you , but I honestly felt like he was like shoving me down because I was going too slow , whatever it . It cracked me up and it also distracted me , I guess you would say , which I needed , because I was feeling the pressure immediately and it was a lot , and when my left ear started filling up , I wanted to go in that little panic mode , not going to lie . But I landed and I immediately I was doing the jaw thing where you're supposed to just , you know , shift your jaw , then swallow . But I immediately remembered I could pop my ear , so I did . And he must have known I was a little panicked because I wasn't looking directly at him , I was just trying to get my ear to pop . So that happened . And then I realized , as I turned to look , I am in the ocean , walking on the bottom about , I would say , 15-20 feet below , just chilling amongst all of these absolutely gorgeous fish gorgeous .

Speaker 1 4:48

I don't know if I mentioned my last episode that I've had the worst luck with snorkeling . We've tried in so many different countries and it has not worked out in my favor . And my worst experience was the bahamas . We were right off the keys and it was three foot waves . So once you actually get your butt into the ocean while you're choking now this was my first experience historically while you're choking because the waves are coming over your circle , so you're constantly gagging on salt water . You look below , which is very intense . I don't know if anyone realizes how intense it is to stick your face into an ocean . It's not like sticking your face into a pool where you can see the end all around you . But , yeah , the ocean and how far it goes down and how long it goes .

Speaker 1 5:39

And I had finally caught a shark in the corner of my eye which everyone seemed to want to like , frolic towards not me . It wasn't a moment of here , kitty , kitty , it was . I am going to backpedal fast the other way , which I did . So then I poked my head out of the water this is is still in Key West and I realized I'm watching these waves suck people in . There's only a tiny , tiny entrance to get to the stairwell of the boat because of the waves and because of the current , and one false move and you're going to whack your head or you're going to get sucked under . Either way . It was terrifying . So I was like you know what ? I'm okay , I'm just going to still snorkel , I'm just going to stay over here away from that shark , I'm going to pretend I'm really looking down at fish , but really I'm not . I'm just praying . At this point I'm praying underwater .

Speaker 1 6:29

That was my first experience , and any other time we've gone Hawaii it was poor weather so we couldn't go . I forget where else we went . We went somewhere else and it was just , it was bad weather . It was bad waves , currents , everything . The point is , don't give up . And I got to experience in Thailand the clearest of waters and that was amazing . So , of course , when Ahmad took me to this waterfront , I realized there wasn't that many people . So I was kind of lucky and I got my own private boat . Again , I just felt blessed in such a strange way . I felt like the queen , with all of these accommodations that just worked out in my favor . It was wonderful and not anything I desired or needed , but because I was exposed to it , it was gratitude . It filled me up with gratitude and I got to experience these events differently , more intimately because it was just me . More intimately because it was just me .

Speaker 1 7:40

So I'm underwater for a half hour with Alex and these fish . When I say the colors , oh my God , there was these dark , blue and yellow fish . Nemo was down there . Then there was this turquoise fish , huge yellow fish , and you could hold your hand out and they come up to your hand . It was surreal and I just remember feeling on top of the world . It was timeless and I wanted to make sure I stood there in the moment to remember it , even though Alex wanted to take a lot of video pictures of me and I couldn't speak to him . I just chose to ignore him for a couple of minutes and just stood there quietly with gratitude . Him for a couple minutes and just stood there quietly with gratitude , basking in the wonders of our world , especially underwater .

Speaker 1 8:22

So here I am , still in reflection , still in gratitude , grateful that I chose to take advantage of this journey , of this three-week adventure that I could have easily said no to or I could have minimized and shortened because of fear of money or anything , time away , homesick , and I didn't feel any of that . My mom had asked me she goes , did you feel homesick at all ? I said no , actually I didn't . I felt very relaxed and I trusted everything about my intuition . In fact , I trusted it this much that I was supposed to go out to dinner last night . Ahmad said he would pick me up and take me to the beach for a seafood dinner at sunset , and of course that always tells me sunset on the beach and the ocean , hello . But my intuition told me not to and I had to sit there and reflect and make sure I wasn't just being afraid or lazy , and when I say lazy I don't mean just lazy , I mean I enjoyed

Airport Reflections and Self-Discovery

Speaker 1 9:23

myself .

Speaker 1 9:23

It was one of my first days off of not doing any type of adventure in sitting poolside and I laid out all day in the sun and swam in the pool and then had my little coconut waters poolside . I was so relaxed . It was crazy how relaxed I was and I enjoyed it . But I knew it was time to get ready and so I did . I went back in , showered and I made the attempts because I was determined to go . There was nothing that really wanted to stop me . But as I got out of the shower and I thought about things , and I thought about how lucky and blessed I was to not experience any serious illness Bali belly , I guess , is a big thing that tourists can be impacted by and I made sure to take all the precautionary advice , which was malaria pills , charcoal pills . I got a lot of vaccinations , probably too many , but I still did it . And anyways , I took all the necessary precautions . But minus my bad spicy food that pretty much burned a hole in my stomach , that was it . That was the only downfall .

Speaker 1 10:36

Something in my intuition told me not to go and I just kept hearing it over and over again , like do not chance this , you're risking something and you know you have what I call it . I call it the devil , the angel of the devil , and any other time you can easily talk yourself out of something and they say that's what happens , though , is usually when something good's going to happen , is when you're talking yourself out of it . But you really do have to listen to your intuition , and I've been saying this lately that my intuition is on point and I've truly been following through with it . So I sat there and I asked myself simply like am I afraid ? Am I just being paranoid ? And no , I just kept hearing do not go Cancel it , just enjoy yourself . And I did that .

Speaker 1 11:22

I ended up making it to the dinner here , which there was a Balinese dancer performance music , and that was extraordinary . So it all worked out in my favor anyways , and I got to experience something beautiful and don't get me wrong , would I have loved to see a sunset ? Yes , but have I seen many sunsets on the beach ? Yes , so fast forward to today , and I got to enjoy another full day of laying out , basking in the sunlight , swimming in the pool , even in my private section of the pool , when I was getting too hot and I knew I needed to get in the shower soon . I decided to take a little dip outside my patio , and this I actually liked because I could actually touch the ground . I am short , I'm five foot , so this pool here has no real shallow end . So basically , I was hanging onto the wall for dear life , and normally if I'm in anything that's very deep I'll have like five floaties between my legs or my arms to keep me afloat comfortably right , who doesn't ? So I enjoyed being able to sit in the private pool and stand and it goes up to my shoulders , which is perfect , and the sun's still beating down on me . I probably could have hung out there most of my day , honestly , but I really wanted to lay out and there's only chairs where off my patio . So yeah , but it was a great way to end it , because then I jumped right into the shower , got cozy , waited a while , then ordered room service , because here's the thing I am leaving tonight at 10 pm . I am normally in bed by 10 pm at least .

Speaker 1 13:00

On vacation I have been , and this is going to be interesting for two reasons . One , my flights are longer going home than they were coming here . Two , I will be grateful . Once I'm all settled into the airport in Bali , I will make sure I get on the plane , I have my mask and then , once I'm on the plane , I will light out and that's a nine hour flight to Doha . Doha I only have two hour layover , which isn't bad because it still gets me moving , and you need that when you have such a long flight . You need to get up , get moving . I'll probably go brush my teeth and grab something to eat a coffee , something normal , something filling but I also know that I'm going to be on a longer flight , so I'm sure I'll get two meals , if not well , at least one . So , yeah , I'm this one I'll be wide awake for , because I'll probably have slept the whole night over flight , which now leads me into my 15 hour flight . Yes , yes , yes , I said it 15 hours .

Speaker 1 14:04

I arrive back at O'Hare by 2.30pm , which I already know . O'hare Airport is nothing like these airports . I have been spoiled , rotten , coming out this way . Doha is rated the number one airport in the united united in the world sorry , forgive me . So you can imagine . Singapore is rated top five . Thailand , bucat , another one rated high . So you can imagine , you could literally imagine , picture it , picture the amazingness of the experiences I've had at these airports . And then I got to come home to O'Hare , oh boy . So I actually factored in like at least an hour and 40 minutes to the time I actually could go grab a taxi home . Yeah , but I don't care . Again , still grateful , I am dreading .

Speaker 1 14:53

Not going to lie , though , anyone else besides me wear comfy clothes on an airplane . When I say comfy , though , I don't like to be cold , so I'm talking sweatpants , a hoodie , I have a t-shirt and shorts on underneath , but comfy , like oversized comfy . That's how I roll on planes that I know I'll be on for a very long time . But when I left , chicago had , you know , mediocre weather . It wasn't too bad . What I'm coming home to , I guess , is like a heat index of 114 degrees . I feel like I'm just bringing Southeast Asia back with me . So there's that . I am going to give a shout out to my neighbor who is already lowering the AC for me , but I get to come home to a house , an empty house . My cat won't be there until probably the next day . I'll have to go pick him up , but I don't know if he'll even want to come home with me .

Speaker 1 15:41

Guys , because I've been getting pictures from my parents Well , mostly from my dad and Charlie has just enjoyed life at my parents house , especially with my dad and his favorite dog , lucy . I thought Charlie was going to hate it . Charlie became the king of that entire castle . My dad sent me the cutest picture of him . He's got my dad . He's a very special man . He has this big wicker basket brown wicker basket big , not little big and he calls that his snack basket . Yes , my dad has a snack basket and there was Charlie laying in his snack basket , looking all handsome , and I just sat there . If anything , I missed my cat . Not going to lie , I did . I missed Charlie , but I just want to say thank you . Thank you for listening , thank you for joining me on such an adventure . I still can't believe I did it .

Speaker 1 16:34

I still I'm just so proud of myself . Honestly , I love that I'm at a place where I can be that proud of myself . I love that I'm at a place where fear does not stop me . And that's the other thing I was reflecting on is my next moves in life , what I desire for myself , what I desire to let go of , what I desire to work more on , but what I desire to come back into my world , into my life , what I'm ready for , what my heart's ready for , and there was so much and I just I started journaling and reflecting just about life and everything and what I hope for for myself , for my family , for my friends , for the world . All I know is , when I get home , I do have a couple more weeks off before I go back to work and I think I'm going to take that time to truly map out what I desire most in this upcoming year and also reflect and write about all my accomplishments . There's been so many , and they're personal , they're intrinsical accomplishments . I love that , don't you just love celebrating yourself and others ? I love celebrating life . I love celebrating other people . I love encouraging other people .

Speaker 1 17:54

I had a friend post something about wanting to see a play . I was like do it . Then she kind of made a chuckle she's a girl , have you been ? I was like I've never been to that play . But do it . You want to do it , do it .

Speaker 1 18:04

Don't let your desires , don't let life get in the way of your desires . You want something , go for it . Don't let fear , doubt , shame , guilt , I mean . Don't let it stop you , don't let it get in the way . It's doing that on purpose . It's testing you to see how much do you love yourself ? How much are you going to listen to what your soul desires and what it needs ? Do

Believe in Yourself and Take Action

Speaker 1 18:30

it .

Speaker 1 18:30

I can't say this enough Don't be the person that gets in your own way . Don't self-sabotage your dreams . You are worthy of it all . But until you start believing that you won't reflect that , don't sit in the comfortable and stay there , especially if you're uncomfortable . Do the uncomfortable thing and get yourself out . Get yourself moving , get yourself motivated . Thing . It gets yourself out , gets yourself moving , gets yourself motivated . Go after your desires . Go after what you truly want for yourself . Don't let yourself be the one that gets in the way . That holds you back . You are worthy , you are love . You are light . Keep shining bright Until then . Thank you for joining me on another amazing episode of Infinite Love on the Go . No-transcript .