Two weeks ago I found myself sitting on a chair with my feet in cold fresh water. It was about six pm in the afternoon and the sun was shying away behind the mountains where all of a sudden I felt joy. It was a feeling I had been so long without. I can’t lie lately I’ve been sad. A feeling I usually try to brush off and just experience life day by day. But this feeling had been taken over me until that day. I was back home in sajoma, in DR for three days and it was exactly what I needed at that moment. To be home in the river watching the sunset and the water getting colder by the second but yet felt so homey. 

Most of you are like okay Pam who actually cares. The point of writing this was that it took me to go home. To be in a place of no wifi, no phones just my family and I to realize that everything I needed is already in my life. My family and I often have cook outs by the river and just hang, drink, and tell jokes, we tell stories and laugh uncontrollably. It was as we cooked our chicken and rice that I realized lucky I am. To have a family that despite all the lost we have endured in the last few years still comes together and laughs. We share our love for nature and spend beautiful afternoons like this one. I also couldn’t help but look at my surroundings. A house, of an outdoor kitchen, a few chairs, a table that had definitely been used more than enough times. Platanos hanging from the ceiling and water filling up a “cubo” to later use to do the dishes. I realized how these people that lived by the river live such a simple and happy life. 

Pablo and his wife have been our family friends for years. They have a house right on the verge of the river where for years I'd spend my summer days after swimming in the river. To go back there this point of my life felt so right. So at home. Perhaps it was disconnecting from everyone and being in the moment that felt so right. But everything felt so perfect and simple. It felt as if fresh air had entered my lungs and all of a sudden I could breathe easier.

Ever since my trip I have tried to be grateful for the simple things. For a cup of coffee. For the mornings and even for all this damn rain. We usually lose site of what we have, of who we are not knowing that it’s all in front of us. That some people have 1% of what we have an are so happy, yet we complain about the dumbest things. Summer just started and I would like to challenge us all to be more in the moment. To enjoy those around you. To experience things more freely, to let go, to love, to simply live. 

Below I have shared a few pictures of the night in Inoa, sajoma. My home. My place of freedom. I hope you know where your place of freedom is.

Xoxo P$