Faith Edges out Fear

Somewhere between Cape Tribulation and Daintree Village, my driving confidence magically surged back in a thrilling return of faith.

I’d taken the car on a ferry to cross the river and spent a day driving through the Daintree Rainforest, one of the oldest rainforests on the planet. But the whole time, I still had that low-level fear, white knuckles, hyper alert and feeling disoriented.

And then, just after leaving Cape Tribulation, it happened. The car suddenly felt like a car, not an alien spaceship. I felt the departure of fear and the return of faith and laughed out loud.

I couldn’t have had that moment if I hadn’t moved past the nervousness in the first place. My desire to really see the rainforest was stronger than my fear of driving on the wrong side of the road, so I put in the time behind the wheel and the magic happened.

Now I’m zipping around the South Island of New Zealand like I was born here, and every day I feel even more free and capable.

I never try to manufacture the details of life. I make big general plans: land in Christchurch, rent a car, get to my friend’s house, and then I just watch the universe fill in everything between with magic. It keeps doing that. I keep letting it.

I’ve shared the rest of this reflection on Substack, including my return to daily spiritual practice and the next chapter of my travels.

You can continue reading it here.