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"Freedom" - Vi Vi Thai
Vi uncovered her life’s purpose after spending years working towards an engineering career and a US green card, only to realize that life wasn't actually right for her. She decided to start over in Canada as an immigrant (from Vietnam), where she embarked on a nomadic, van-life to see more of the world. Vi wrote a book (Living Through Alchemy - a transformational journey to freedom) about these experiences in the hopes of helping others find their purpose. One of the many reasons I was excited to talk with Vi is that many people talk about "freedom" (Vi's value) and living their true purpose, but not everyone goes against their family's wishes, gives up a career in biomedical engineering, and dedicates their life to traveling around a foreign country in a van.
As Vi explained it, the importance of "freedom" is that it gives you a chance to figure out who you really are and what brings you purpose. Freedom is not about sitting around and doing whatever brings you pleasure in that moment, it is about a deep sense of openness that allows you to be your true self. The problem we often run into is that we don't realize we are not free. We quite literally are programmed from a young age (some of it very functional and necessary) to conform to the world around us, to value things society deems important, and to abide by certain constraints. Often those constraints are embedded deep in our subconscious and inhibit us from actually figuring out what path is right for us.
We talked a lot about overcoming these constraints, if there is risk of too much freedom, and many other things, but one of the points that stuck with me most was how candid Vi was about how difficult this all is. It is not a magic formula, it does not happen overnight, and it is not easy to identify when you are on the right path. Freedom doesn't mean there is no more stress, that everything society tells us is wrong, or just listening to this podcast will give you all the answers. It means you are willing/able to do the deep reflective work to figure out what matters to you and you have the courage to trust the "flow of life" to lead you to where you are meant to be.
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By Terry McMullen
5
2323 ratings
Vi uncovered her life’s purpose after spending years working towards an engineering career and a US green card, only to realize that life wasn't actually right for her. She decided to start over in Canada as an immigrant (from Vietnam), where she embarked on a nomadic, van-life to see more of the world. Vi wrote a book (Living Through Alchemy - a transformational journey to freedom) about these experiences in the hopes of helping others find their purpose. One of the many reasons I was excited to talk with Vi is that many people talk about "freedom" (Vi's value) and living their true purpose, but not everyone goes against their family's wishes, gives up a career in biomedical engineering, and dedicates their life to traveling around a foreign country in a van.
As Vi explained it, the importance of "freedom" is that it gives you a chance to figure out who you really are and what brings you purpose. Freedom is not about sitting around and doing whatever brings you pleasure in that moment, it is about a deep sense of openness that allows you to be your true self. The problem we often run into is that we don't realize we are not free. We quite literally are programmed from a young age (some of it very functional and necessary) to conform to the world around us, to value things society deems important, and to abide by certain constraints. Often those constraints are embedded deep in our subconscious and inhibit us from actually figuring out what path is right for us.
We talked a lot about overcoming these constraints, if there is risk of too much freedom, and many other things, but one of the points that stuck with me most was how candid Vi was about how difficult this all is. It is not a magic formula, it does not happen overnight, and it is not easy to identify when you are on the right path. Freedom doesn't mean there is no more stress, that everything society tells us is wrong, or just listening to this podcast will give you all the answers. It means you are willing/able to do the deep reflective work to figure out what matters to you and you have the courage to trust the "flow of life" to lead you to where you are meant to be.