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Green Sea Turtle

Percula “Nemo” Clownfish

Blackspotted Puffer

Black-tipped Reef Sharks [Here are some of the many ocean critters I saw, photos taken by our dive photographer]

I recently travelled to Far North Queensland, in part to complete my certification as a forest therapy guide. It might have been one of the best trips I ever took! I suspect it’s because of how close to nature I got, how I spent many days interacting with the locals, seeing and experiencing the land in ways that I wouldn’t have had as a tourist just passing through. The older I get, the more I appreciate slow travel. It’s not easy for many of us to forsake the perfectly curated itinerary. As a natural optimiser and maximiser, it took me years to let go of my expectations of what makes a great holiday.

A highlight of this trip, for instance, was seeing a green sea turtle during a day out snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef. I had never seen one in its natural habitat and had no idea what to look out for. I spotted it, much to my own surprise, among some corals, just as I was floating by, enjoying the stillness and calm of the ocean. I hovered above it for a while, basking in the beauty of the moment, feeling so grateful… That said, I still felt a very human twang of jealousy that my husband got to see five(!) cassowaries during our time in Daintree Rainforest. I had been yearning to see one but alas, never did.

A wise friend once told me that we can have everything in this world, just not at the same time. When I find myself striving or in periods of discontent, this profound statement brings me back into gentle acceptance of what I have at present. It’s terribly easy to look around and compare our lot to what others appear to have. As a 30-something-year-old, this sometimes feels more pronounced, especially when peers hit certain major milestones in life (and celebrate them online). I tell myself that it is okay… and then I close the app/s.

Of course, it also helps to have strong social support — others who abide by the same values and remind us that the lives we have can be truly good without looking like everyone else’s. I’ve come to see that many modern-day dissatisfactions and “FOMO” anxieties stem from an insecurity of not being good enough. Being surrounded by very intelligent folks in university does not always help alleviate the fear that if we do not do enough, we might get passed over. But what cost are we willing to pay to have everything all at once?

As you navigate this time of young adulthood, my hope for you is that you will grow in both a deeper understanding and greater acceptance of who you are — and perhaps, along the way, become more at peace with what you have, what you do not have, and what may simply not be yours yet.

~ RSLM Bianca

Cassowary that I did not see in person, photo taken by my husband.

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