CAIT AROUND THE WORLD

March 16, 2023 — On my last full day in Byron Bay, I finally checked an activity off my list that I’d been wanting to do for days.

After spending the morning doing some blog work, I finally headed to the Byron Bay Lighthouse.

I stayed at the Wake Up! Byron Bay and they have tons of activities for guests. There’s a BBQ night (which I went to and met a couple people who I then went out to the Piano Bar with) and a wine and cheese night, daily yoga (which I did on my first day and swore not to endure again, I’m just not built for that sort), and a sunrise lighthouse walk.

The whole idea with the sunrise lighthouse walk is that they will drive you up, you watch the sunrise, and then you walk back to town. Unfortunately (but also awesomely?), I was doing my surfing lessons every morning and was getting picked up at 8:45am. Sunrise was early, but I really didn’t have any concept of how long it might take me to get back after the sun rose, and I didn’t really want to feel rushed.

So, instead of doing the sunrise walk with the hostel, I decided to just go to the lighthouse on my own on my last day. Honestly, it was still absolutely beautiful. There’s something about the pure white paint on brick, standing against a blue sky that is just so beautiful.

On my first night in Byron Bay, I popped out to visit the beach (it was right across the road, how could I not?) and I saw the light from the lighthouse cutting across the darkness, out to sea. It was so cool because I’d never actually seen a lighthouse in action prior to that moment. It was equally as awesome to then get to see the lighthouse in all its glory during the day.

While I was walking up to the lighthouse, enjoying the beautiful scenery along the way, I caught myself up on some episodes of the Digital Diary with Hannah Elise podcast that I started listening to just before I left home (and then got too busy to continue). I’ve watched Hannah Elise’s YouTube videos for a while now and when she released her podcast I was so excited because I’ve wanted to branch in podcasts, I just haven’t taken the time to find ones I like. Following along with hers was easy.

Although I listened to several episodes while I walked that day, the one that I remember most was titled, “Comparison is the thief of joy”. It really hit home with me as Hannah discussed the fact that one person’s success doesn’t take away from your own. How you can’t compare day one or even day forty-nine of your journey to someone else’s day two hundred and thirty seven. Part of the reason I’m on this trip is to figure out what I want and to grow into the person I want to be. Comparing the progress I have made in forty-nine days of travel to someone else’s three hundred and ninety-four just can’t compute. Equally, I’m not “behind” for taking this time. I’m not “wasting” anything by taking the time to travel and figure things out.

While I was in Byron Bay, I was struggling with being ill and not feeling great and I was also struggling with feeling unfulfilled in what I was doing while travelling. Listening to the podcast, I realized that there are no expectations beyond those I set for myself. There is nothing I have to achieve beyond what I want to do and see and experience. I am completely free to do as I wish.

I really loved this walk to the lighthouse and it lifted my spirits. I came back that evening and had some dinner, then went to bed in Byron for the last time. What a week!

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