I just returned from an amazing vacation in paradise. It was glorious. And not just because it was negative 18934 degrees at home but this place was pure relaxation and bliss. Our trip was to Los Cabos, Mexico at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos resort. I highly recommend this place to anyone/everyone because it’s just awesome! The weather was perfect, the resort was clean and incredibly well-kept, the food was out of this world good and ... you get the idea. I liked it there! But after an entire week of blissful pampering, relaxation, sun and way too many Tecate Lights later, there was one message I heard that resonated with me loud and clear: finding your common ground can be life-changing.
We went for my husbands work as an incentive type trip for his job. The other couples who joined us were from as far as 4 hours north of our home area, as well as couples over an hour south of our area- 17 couples in total. Mostly customers of my husbands company and their wives, and their ages ranged from late 20’s to late 50’s. Some couples had kids the same ages, were from nearby towns, or farm the same size acreage. But the main thing everyone had in common was they buy or sell products from the sponsoring company.
We spent anywhere from 4-6 nights at the resort with only 3 main preplanned events. It was our choice to eat together or not, or to go on any group excursions, or just stay by ourselves. Surprisingly, almost everyone enjoyed the opportunity to talk with each other and share ideas or woes they’ve had over the past year. Some professionally, others personally- to people who maybe were complete strangers only a week ago!
On the last night most of the group came together as a last hoorah and the conversations just started to flow. One of the wives leaned over while we were all enjoying the company, beautifully warm weather and told me something that sparked this post; she was so over-the-moon happy to have this chance to talk with all these other wives/moms/farmers and find out that her struggles were the exact same struggles other people were dealing with too! She wasn’t alone! And now, because of this trip, she felt even somewhat normal. That brought her so much comfort, joy, and peace! Just knowing she was amongst the masses who struggle with getting our children to sleep at night, or having to help their husbands on the farm at the most inconvenient times, or that her struggle with routine fitness as she ages seems to have a direct correlation with her decreased interest in nutrition. Same girl, same!!!
No matter the struggle someone mentioned, there was someone else who had experienced that at one time or another. If you were lucky, there was even someone who might give you advice on how they survived that issue. Some of the couples with older children were able to give hope to those of us with young children who battle over taking showers. Turns out, at some point, they do realize they stink on their own! Most of the farmers talked business strategies and product preferences, which was great as that was one of the main goals for the trip, but they also reminisced over college experiences and poor choices they may or may not have made. It was funny how you could watch people who might never have known each other exchange phone numbers and start befriending each other on social media. They WANTED to know each other and maintain these relationships they just built. They enjoyed the company and conversations and even more, the confirmation that they were going to make it through these struggles because they weren’t in uncharted waters alone anymore. They were now on common ground in a sea of people experiencing life’s ups and downs right along with them.
If you've ever felt like there's got to be someone else out there going through the same battles you're facing, chances are there is! You are not alone. There are others out there who you might be passing at the grocery store or even sitting behind on an airplane that are dealing with the exact same struggles you've been through. Give everyone out there a little grace from time to time and you might just learn that all they needed was to know they too are on common grounds!
Xoxo
Ashley
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