In August it will have been 2 years since I left the UK to move to Vancouver. I know it's a cliche but it is crazy how time flies by. In some ways it feels only last week in terms of time away but it feels a life time in terms of how much I have changed as a person since arriving. It's a funny thing when you look back at who you were a year or two ago. The change is drastic. I didn't notice the change happening although it clearly happened. If I look at myself yesterday I feel confident I am the exact same person, but perhaps not. On some microscopic level perhaps I am a new version of myself with slightly altered views to the person who went to sleep. Over time those small steps lead to a bigger chasm of change.
I also can't put my finger on what caused the change. When I left the UK the direction I thought I wanted to take my life was very different to what it is now. Now while I wasn't completely ignorant to healthy eating, environmental and ethical issues I was a fairly stereo typical English male. If there wasn't meat on my plate it wasn't a proper meal, I thought organic was a good way to waste money, I didn't put much thought into how things were packaged, and yoga and meditation were for people who hadn't discovered running. Now however, I eat meat maybe once a week at most, I try to only eat organic, I have fits of rage when I see food in unnecessary packaging and it can be the highlight of my day when someone says "time for Savasana". What happened?
Taking myself out of the bubble of the UK has led me to be able to hear alternative views on how to live your life. I liken it to when I went to University. Up until then I had spent all my time with my school friends being influenced by each others interests and hobbies. We had all had fairly similar upbringings and so inevitably we were all quite similar people. We weren't exposed to as many alternative ways of doing things. Then I went to Uni and my mind was opened, I mixed with people I hadn't before then, they come from different parts of the country, had different opportunities and therefore offered new ideas. I was able to pick what truly resonated with me from a bigger pool of ideas and beliefs and so changed as a person more inline with who I truly was. Moving to another country has been the same only this time the pool of ideas is bigger and I am able to discover my true self much clearer.
The thing is I don't really know where this change is headed. Have I peaked? Am I changed already? I feel there's more to come if I open my mind to it. I don't know what that looks like or where it will lead me but I feel I have to explore it. It's an exciting thought to think that in two years time you could look back at yourself now and think how inexperienced and naive you once were.
I look forward to finding out.