Sometimes what's needed is a leap... or a push.
It felt like a mix of both when I boarded a metrolink that would take me to the airport on my way to Australia on a chilly late November Thursday.
I remember reflecting after a long goodbye with a dear friend at the station how this decision had the weight of finality.
More than when I decided to shave my head, when I decided to leave a sales career that no longer felt alive and true, or stepped away from a relationship that had run its course, this choice felt like it would take me on a life direction that would change everything.
Earlier in the year, I was part of a group of 5 friends who had decided to move to the Bay Area of California to start fresh after a series of individual and interconnected changes.
I was fresh from a relationship transition and was excited to expand and explore a new scene and way of being. We had visions of finding a community house, running workshops, potlucks, movie nights, and all the good things that come from opening hearts and fresh beginnings.
Of course, Life took a turn, and my friend called me in mid-August, sharing he was following a teacher of his to Bali and had already convinced the others to go with him.
I felt the feels. A mix of frustration, angst, betrayal, and... while I didn't want to admit it to my friend, sparks of wonder and curiosity.
The crew found their way to the Island of The Gods in October, and while I didn't have plans to join them, I had other plans already in place.
At the end of the year, a holiday visit to my mom's side of the family in Sydney found me with just a backpack, most of my stuff either sold or in storage, and without a return ticket as I boarded the plane to down under.
This was nearly eight years ago, and the journey since has been a wild, wonderful ride.
One that I'm grateful still continues to this day...
There's lots more story of the paths walked and seasons passed to be shared, but I'll keep this intro short and sweet.
For now, I'll point to some themes and topics I'll be exploring here, along with my journey and experiences of expat life in Southeast Asia.
Men's development has been the foundation of my work and offerings for over a decade. In so much as questions of whether I'm man enough, what it means to be a modern man, and how to bring forth more mature masculinity into the world have been my greatest questions, they're also the most inescapable inquires and explorations personally and professionally.
Heart-led Leadership & Facilitation is something I see the world desperately needs more of. Having spent my twenties in boiler room sales floors run by narcissistic leaders who only cared about results and productivity, I feel the weight and need for new paradigms of how we inspire, motivate, and co-create within our careers, businesses, relationships. Today when I hold space for workshops, clients, or community building I strive to bring both results and presence into what's possible when humans align and resonate together.
New Relationship Paradigms and how we relate, communicate, and love each other are greatly needed in both our bedrooms and boardrooms. The best part of this is many of the tools and frameworks are already available, and new ones more appropriate to our modern time are constantly being created and evolved.
Nuanced Perspectives around current and cultural events is something I'm increasingly finding myself writing about. As someone who often stands out and looks different from others, I often see the world as having more gradients and nuanced context. There are no easy answers to the challenges we face as modern humans, and the only way forward is together.
Creative Recovery is a new theme that's come through over the past years. Having recently experienced a deep and wounding trauma, finding my way and wings out of the desert of despair and loss has been a hard, brutal journey. I believe our modern culture is still finding ways to wrestle with individual and collective grief. While it wasn't a great experience, I'm grateful to have a broader perspective on what it means to be human and how to work with our nervous systems and recovery.
These days I find myself often pulled between the fleeting warmth of Hope and the deep dark of despair, all the while doing my best to walk the line down the middle of Faith which requires both Action and Vision.
As Creatives, I believe part of our gift and burden is to speak and share what we see, how we see it, and to allow the emotional impact to come through our art, offerings, and expression.
In a world that seems to be falling apart at the seams, I believe heartful, genuine, and authentic expression is the glue that'll keep us all together.
I'm thrilled and grateful to be here sharing more sticky goodness with you.
Feel free to say hi here or check me out on instagram @soulfulintimacy.
(and do check out @artemislives whose warmth and heartful presence has led me here 🌿)
Lovely to meet you. I think @artemislives has made some good introductions already, but I'll add @drrune to them as it sounds like you may have similar paths, both walked and yet to be walked.
Oh yes - that's another great thread of connection @minismallholding - agree 10000%. We're a tight knit bunch on here, Justin - and lots of like-minded cool people. 😍😁
Thank you, @minismallholding, for tagging me here.
Welcome to Hive @justinhlee! Indeed, many of your quests are also my own and I think we can benefit from each other's visions. I'm in Venezuela myself and have never lived anywhere else, but that'll change soon. Blessings to you, may your journey here and elsewhere be ever fruitful and evolutive!
A pleasure to be able to connect you. You were the first person who came to mind when I read about his spiritual journey.
AAAWWW - you DID it!! Love that last smiling pic of you at the bottom.
I feel so BLESSED by your online self and know you have a LOT to contribute to the lives of others seeking to be more conscious and deliberate.
@brittandjosie thank you for leaping in immediately with support for Justin as a newbie - appreciated!! I will be in Holland around August 10th for a couple of weeks and how I might be able to create a mini-Hive-meetup with @karinxxl, @playfulfoodie and yourself.
@riverflows @trucklife-family @minismallholding - do please keep an eye out for my friend here, who is new on the blockchain and has just such a gentle strength and so much wisdom to share.
😍
@justinhlee - check out and follow my hiving buddy @vincentnijman who has created a fab storybook character called Hypersensitivaurus (or something like that 🤣) - I think you might enjoy connecting with him about the redefining of healthy masculinity etc etc. Not to mention he's just a cool guy... x
Thanks for the mention! and you're not the first one struggling with the spelling of Hypersensitivosaurus ;^)
abraço
haha... I tried a few variations and KNEW I had it wrong!! 😭 Justin has some great coaching and content about evolving masculinity. Somehow always reminds me of you. Dikke knuffel. Will you be in NL somewhere between 10 and 25 August? Ploi is off to Hanze in Groningen. 🇳🇱
:<) I knew this would be the case, when I invented this character but part of me liked the fact that it isn't an easy name to spell haha!
So your daughter is indeed planning to study in Holland? Wow! In all honesty, I have no idea where I will be in August but I'll probably be visiting Holland briefly, next month, as my father is pretty ill. Might I be in Holland, again, in August, it would be fun to meet up.
I love the name! Sounds like the kind of saurus that'd be good for chill times and good chats. Look forward to connecting :-)
True that, he's a peaceful philosoraptor. Glad to connect!
Thanks for the mention @artemislives 🤗
Definitely looking forward to connecting further Vincent! Perhaps a chat sometime? Let me know what's good on your end 🌿
Chatting sounds great, we just need to find a way and place to connect.
Are you on Discord, by any chance? If not, feel free to email me here: vincentnijman at protonmail dot com
and I can send you my phone number
Cheers!
Oooh, are things moving forward for Ploi to study in Holland?
They are!! She has been accepted to study Physiotherapy at Hanze University of Applied Science in Groningen, NL - she ranked 34 out of the 1100 applicants and snagged one of the 285 places. It was her first choice out of 5 university applications (3 in Holland and 2 in Thailand) and she received acceptance offers from ALL 5!! YAY!! Now the scholarship work etc etc starts!! She starts Sep 1st and we're visiting friends (and trying to get some new business) in Cyprus on the way through.
HUGE steps and we're over the moon.
That's fantastic and it all seems to be happening so fast! Exciting, but also nerve wracking times. Your baby has grown. It will be sad when she's not around you so much any more.
Hi! Welcome, @justinhlee to Hive!
Thank you!
Hello @justinhlee! This is @indayclara from @ocd (Original Content Decentralized) team. We saw that you already posted your first blog here in Hive! Congratulations and welcome to Hive!
This was a wonderful introduction blog! Felt the authenticity of your words and being. I am looking forward to reading your wisdom from your future blogs!
We have amazing Communities to explore or you can check out the Communities Incubation Program.If you are looking for tips and information as a Hive newbie, click here.
Also, letting you know since content on the Hive platform is monetized, using other people’s ideas or images could be considered as an offense and which is also viewed in a serious light on the blockchain. Here is a useful collection of resources about how plagiarism and abuse is viewed and handled on Hive.
If you have questions, you can hop into Discord server and we'll gladly answer your questions.
@indayclara - thanks for making my friend so welcome - if you can help him to get settled and comfy, I'd be grateful - he's a very special human being!! And a great content creator who is WASTED on FB et al.
Hey Clara! Thanks for the warm message. I appreciate the guidance and resources. Will check them out. Look forward to growing and contributing 🌿
Welcome to Hive @justinhlee! 😃 This was such a very soulful introduction, may you find it to be an enjoyable journey into the communities here, warm greetings from @dbuzz, cheers! 🍾
D.Buzz is a great place for you to freely express what you want with our microblogging platform. Feel free to make an introduction post and let the community know who you are. 🐝
!ALIVE
@justinhlee! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @ilovewintergem. (1/10)
The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.
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The rewards earned on this comment will go directly to the person sharing the post on Twitter as long as they are registered with @poshtoken. Sign up at https://hiveposh.com.
Welcome to Hive, @justinhlee! The blockchain could indeed use some more sticky goodness. Looking forward to your content. See you around!
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Wowowowowo thanks @artemislives deat this is a great onboarded soul and in the right place to grow!
With the help of Artemis I don’t know if you need more help but , I wish you good luck blogging and I Will See you around🍀
Your blogs and comments are appreciated and if you have questions let me know.
We (@jamerussell and I ) are presenting New comers in Our @Heyhaveyamet blogs almost every day , and There is a Discord called The Terminal for newbies and All answers to your questions, join in, I am on Hive everyday ! You can always leave a comment.
Greetings from Brittandjosie from the Netherlands
https://discord.gg/XZGPGpz
Theterminal discord invite
Good luck to you as the new arrival, may hive become your new life !
Or Ecency mobile blogging app
And join their lovely Ecency discord https://discord.gg/9sn9Vans
And this steps to take blog :
https://ecency.com/hive-125125/@beeber/ecency-help-signup-process-for
Or see this vlog
https://peakd.com/hive-189306/@ryzeonline/hives-most-effective-but-controversial-marketing-video-so-far
Thanks for the warm welcome! Look forward to sharing and connecting further 🌿