Why NOT now?

Mar 25

That little voice that whispers “why not now?” — sometimes it’s all you need to start something amazing.

Have you ever strolled through a vendor market, looked at some of the items they’re selling, checked the price tag and then said to yourself (or your VERY disinterested spouse or partner), “wow… I could SO make that myself!”?

Well, I have. Many times.

I’ve gone so far as to take pictures of art hanging in our Panama all-inclusive one year and then paid to have them printed on canvas so I could hang them in our cottage. Another year I brought shells home and created an arrangement in a photo shadow box for what we now call our “Panama wall.” I remember standing back afterward thinking, wow… I did that.

Before I retired in May 2025, I always had an excuse for not listening to that little voice.

“Um, no — I’m working full-time.”
“I don’t have time.”
“There’s too much going on with work and family right now.”

The truth is, I never really felt relaxed enough. Inspired enough. Free enough.

Then we decided to book our 2026 Panama trip — but instead of two weeks, we were going for two months.

Come on… there HAS to be some relaxing, inspiring, and freeing happening there.

It started with Keith and I taking an hour out of every day to do our beach walk. It became our time. Sometimes we talked. Sometimes we didn’t.

We listened to the ocean.
We felt our feet sink into the sand.
We noticed the shimmer in the volcanic black sand of the Pacific Panamanian beaches.

And sometimes we picked up shells.

At first it was just a few a day. Pretty pink shells.

Then it became “oh wow — check out the colours in that one!” or “that is so cool — look at the edges on this one!”

A few shells turned into handfuls each week. And before I knew it, I was coming home with hundreds of tiny ocean treasures… and even more ideas about what I could do with them.

I’m still a while away from launching anything that remotely resembles finished products. But if someone asked me why I’m doing it, I think my answer would be simple.