Curiosity the key to a Passionate Life!
How curiosity guided me to my present Passion-filled Chapter in Spain.
MY PERSONAL ADVENTURE BEGAN in 2005. I was going through a challenging time in my life after the death of my father. (The catalyst of that was a complete surprise to me.)
I realized along with other things that on some level that I had never been truly happy. I followed all the how-tos of success that I learned from my father, & — hired coaches, a total of 3 each time I felt stuck.
-Changed my husband for a single life
– Than while growing my business over the next 10 years vacationed & traveled around the world.
– Redecorated my home, then moved out.
– Moved to an “artsy” neighborhood
— Changed friends and church,
…and still no real change in my joy level. Was this normal as we are to work to one day be happy, every model I knew had taught me that.
Let me assure you … I had much to be happy & thankful for, but there can come a time in your life with enough experiences behind you, that you know “things have changed” (I’ll go into that in another post!). And no amount of leisure, spending, or busyness can changed that nagging feeling inside that there-must-be-more. Yet I continued to follow the encouragement to wait while I kept the status quo of career-building, ignoring the anxiousness I felt inside.
But sometimes your unsticks take over. I think in a form of wondering /curiosity and I found myself instinctually turning off the TV, and it’s messaging. Getting up at 5:00 am in the mornings and journaling before I did anything… even days before work. Finally, I arrived at the thought that I had to do something even if that meant to take a LEAP without knowing what the “something more” was.
You might ask how does a person do this? I’ve always teased that I am the poster child for “normal.” No extra gifts, money, or specialness lie in this girl’s life… but what does is an insatiable CURIOSITY. So much, so that is washes away any fear I have of failing that let me tell you is very strong. The writer and, in my opinion, great woman thinker Elizabeth Gilbert says… It’s not passion; we should pursue its Curiosity. Because Curiosity will always create a Passionate life.
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In 2008, even in the recession, I sold my house, and 98% of my other “stuff.” Closed my Interior Design business & disengaged from my amazing clients of 20+ years – and YES that was a BIG DEAL!
My baby, my company for over 20 years, I was now saying goodbye too.
Friends and the people in my industry thought I was crazy!
During this time, I received and got turned on to other ways of spiritual thinking adding to my Catholic background. I received copies of Krishnamurti, The Buddha, and The Dali Lama, and a spiritual opening began.
The journey has been profound for me. I discovered there wasn’t anything outside of myself that needed changing at all – instead, it was what I believed about myself and my world around me that needed work! It was the first time I saw myself as an expression of divine consciousness, and I realized my pain stemmed from my fundamental lack of self-love and limiting beliefs. As a result, I became more curious about finding ways to share my unique gifts and insights. Especially to women of my generation, who had experienced this same tale of empty successes and mix choice options being the first generation of women to leave ‘the home’ for outside work and doing or not doing the child-rearing thing.
It felt natural that I’d move to Spain in 2009. A place I visited once with a dear friend on a 12day vacation and cried on the plane when we left. There was something about being away, or was it because I was out of the environment I thought defined me & I knew so intimately? All I know is that It would catalyze my most profound personal insights.
“Leaving Home, in a sense, involves a kind of second birth in which we give birth to ourselves.”
-Robert Neelly Bellah
In 2017, I had the privilege to design and Host my first Retreat in Spain, giving birth to our first Women’s Ageless Living Retreats. To assist others on their transformational journeys and to give back what I received. Where I have watched women travelers from faraway places come “home” to themselves, again and again, changing their life perspective from one of fear at a loss or limitations to one of love, acceptance, and limitless possibility. It is truly awe-inspiring, and it feeds my passion for creating unique experiences that free individuals to see their very best in this wonderfully empowering time in their lives.
It is my mission.
If you are interested in our next Women’s Getaway here is a link: Paris and Champagne France, Oct 3-10 2020
We’d love to have you!
XX Kathy
Kathy Camp is cultivating her brand of Ageless Living & Next Chapters as a “midlife” strategist based in Madrid, Spain, where she coaches International Clients and hosts Transformational Retreats for Women in Europe. “No More Aimless Wandering Toward Happiness! It’s time to get obsessively specific about what you want & start filling your life with it.”
