3 Months Living at The Shangri-La Maldives

I'm wrapping up my last week of living at the Shangri-La Villingili Resort and Spa. It's been nothing short of a dream, and I am in a state of absolute gratitude and appreciation for every beautiful moment of the day.

To live in a water villa for 3 months is beyond luxury. But the true luxury is not just the 800 thread count clean sheets and towels everyday, nor is it the hammock which is stretched across the sparking crystal blue water. It is the peace. The true luxury has been watching the most incredible sunsets I have ever seen. Every single one different and unique and special. The last bursts of colour, ending a day, yet creating a memory in my mind that will last forever.

A memory. A moment. In my first few weeks, I sat one night enjoying a delicious bottle of wine with a beautiful young Russian family, just two of the deeply interesting and wonderfully fascinating new friends I have met while I have been here. At one point, the beautiful young mother looked at me and said "This moment will never happen again", and on that note we did as the Russians do and stood up and clinked our glasses of wine together. I remember those words often, and think about them often. In moments of bliss, or in moments of pain. Every moment is temporary. But is it permanent, because it always was and always will be.

I haven't blogged much while I have been here. But I have been doing writing. Lots of it. I've filled almost two journals, documenting my thoughts, emotions, observations and realisations with ink to paper. I've taken photos. Thousands of photos. Which I have yet to properly organise and edit. Here are some of my favorite for the last three months. Photos featured below are all by me.

In conclusion, as I wrap up the last week of living in one of the most beautiful houses on one of the most beautiful islands in the world, I will send out even more gratitude for everything. For this amazing opportunity. For all the warm and wonderful staff who have been so accommodating and heart-felt. Literally. When you pass a member of staff of Shangri-La Villingili Resort and Spa, they put their hand on their heart and smile warmly and they bow their head. It is the most simple and beautiful gesture.

The wonderful guests who have come to the island to stay have become new friends of mine. Russia, Qatar, Dubai, New York, Monaco, Vienna, Paris, UK. The list goes on. Beautiful, humble, kind people with love and gratitude in their hearts. I feel so blessed. People to know for life, and meet, somewhere in the world, at some moment in time. To experience even more laughter, knowledge, sharing and beautiful moments in time.

Diving. Having a tank of oxygen clipped onto your back and then jumping off a boat into the sparkly blue yonder is a thrill and blast of adrenaline in itself. Pressing a button to release air out of your vest, as you sink slowly below sea level. Popping your ears as you descend. Breathing, and hearing the air comes out in bubbles as it rises above you, back up to the surface. Diving. It's the sound. The sound of nothing. It's even more peaceful than sitting outside of my villa in the morning and having coffee. If that's even possible.

When you are submersed 10 meters below sea level, and slowly gliding past rainbow coloured coral reefs and look up to see yourself suspended among a sea of small silver fish glimmering from the sunshine above, it's really all there is. Simplicity. Peace. Solitude. Serenity. Understanding. Acceptance. Fascination. Curiosity. Dreams. Colours. Vivid. Energy. Universal oneness. Feeling big. Feeling small. Feeling nothing. Feeling everything. My long hair, floating, suspended in time and space. Me watching it, while holding my breath. That silence. Flashes of watching Splash as a little girl, and suddenly it all making perfect sense. Diving. I'm so happy we met each other. This is the beginning of a lifetime of love.

And my job. Last but definitely not least. To play music at sunset and see the sky light up in a blast of pink, orange, purple and blue. To try and predict what the clouds will look like, as the sun goes down and has disappeared, has become almost a game for me. These moments. Enjoying these moments with strangers who have become friends. And to provide the soundtrack as people sit in peace and appreciation and sip their cold Mojito or martini or coconut water. It's been a dream. A dream come true. And a dream that will continue come September, when I have been invited to do this for another 6 months.

On that note, I will leave you with photos. I fly out next week. A few nights in Perth to catch up with friends, than onwards to Bali, where I will spend a good few weeks reconnecting even deeper with myself and the magical island which started this whole incredible journey a year and a half ago. It will be a time of reflection. Having asked myself some deep questions lately, the answers are now naturally revealing themselves. Why did I leave Vancouver? What was I searching for? How is that different now? What have I found? What have I overcome? What am I proud of? What else do I want to create and achieve?

I know now, more than ever, everything you can ever imagine is possible. I stop for a moment and let my own words which I have just written permeate through my mind. Yes. It is so. Everything is yours to create. To visualise. To allow. To attract. To experience.

The past year and a half has been a collection of moments. Some very hard and very challenging. Others, perfect, in every way possible. I appreciate and love them all. For all their lessons, held a deeper truth, to bring me now to this moment. So this is not the end of a journey, nor is it the beginning. The moments in time, whether past, right now or what is to come, are all connected. Just how I am and you are connected to the stars and the moon, and to every piece of coral, rock or fish in the ocean.

Shangri-La Villingili Resort and Spa:  http://www.shangri-la.com/male/villingiliresort/