Have you ever traveled in your mind?
Because I did, and it was life-changing.
It was 2 a.m., a typical Friday night in my hometown, Buenos Aires. It was winter, and I was practically freezing, laying down in my bed, scrolling through my LinkedIn profile, wondering what else I could do to make my CV more appealing.
In the blink of an eye, my mind shut down. I somehow managed to open my eyes to find myself lying on the floor, but it was the floor of my beach house. That was incredibly weird. I didn’t recall having bought a ticket to Uruguay, but I wasn’t going to complain. It was my favorite place on earth, my safe place. But what just happened? Did I teleport? Was any of what was happening real?
I decided not to think about it too much and tried to enjoy the present, or whatever that was. So I stood up, opened the front door, and stepped out into the wide, starry night. I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with the fresh, salty air. I lifted my head up to the sky, and my eyes met the moon and smiled.
That was the moment I realized that none of this was happening on planet earth because she smiled back. The moon had just delivered a smile to me. I decided to play along with it and whispered, “Thank you.”
She answered, naturally, and said, “You’re welcome; now you should go to meet her.”
That confused me a little because I honestly didn’t know who she was talking about. Who was waiting for me, and where?
So, I resumed my walk, guided by all the big green trees and the lovely hummingbirds. I walked past my friends’ houses and saw the light of a fireplace inside one of them. I got close to it and peeped in, looking for a clue or somebody. That’s when I saw her silhouette, dancing to the rhythm of something that only she could hear.
When she saw me, she didn’t look surprised at all. She took my hand and intertwined our fingers while the other gave me a folded piece of paper. In big, blue capital letters, it read:
DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE YOU NEED A BREAK FROM REALITY?
I glanced at her and answered honestly. I said that every time I find myself stressed, my mind immediately travels to this exact place, the place where I’m the happiest version of myself. Uruguay. The season is summer, and everything is fine; there’s nothing to worry about. It’s that nostalgic feeling that keeps me going. It reassures me to know that everything here will continue to be as it always is, with my friends, my family, the beach, and nature surrounding me.
When I stopped talking, she smiled and said, “So that’s what you’re doing now, right? Don’t worry, let me hold your hand and guide you through this dance until your mind is at ease again. That’s what I was doing too. I journey to this place whenever I feel anxious.”
That was when I understood, and I could hear what she was listening to earlier. I grabbed her hand and we hugged until I felt like myself again.
Thank you to Julianna Wages for their inspired edit on this piece and everyone else on the Lifestyle & Relationships team.
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