I could write a million blog posts about how spectacular Hedonism is and what it all means to every one of us. Some may say I already do!! But here’s a different thought instead. For every 3 vacations being paid for as we speak, what about the people that have never been or for whatever reason, can never go back? I mean, seriously…Life is hard. And more than that, its messy and complicated and nothing like they make it look in the movies or on TV. You have work and school and kids and bills and responsibilities stacked so high you can barely breath because they threaten to suffocate you. Yet with all that in mind, it doesn’t stop the wishing, the hoping, or the dreaming about far away places. Because, in some cases, that’s all we have.
Thankfully this Facebook group and it’s members exist. It’s more than a forum. It’s more than a silly little place to post our pictures. It’s a portal. A window, if you will. For some, it allows them a view of this magical, tropical paradise that beckons and welcomes and promises to fulfill all their wildest dreams. And for others, it’s this magical wardrobe where joy, bliss and empowerment await them on the other side. All they have to do is simply push their way through the coats and clothes and just keep trudging until they feel the sun on their skin. And finally, there are those who look at it both ways. However, even after they get their eyeful, that’s all they can ever do.
As magnificent as this resort is, it’s anything but cheap. I guess nothing worth having ever is. Not everyone can just swipe their card or clear a week on the calendar and just GO. Even though we may really, really want to. And with that in mind, sometimes you have to switch around your priorities, and rearrange your realities and it’s because of that, I have come to this conclusion.
As much as some of us love it, Hedonism II isn’t just a spot in the Caribbean. It’s not just an address in the sand on Norman Manley Blvd. It’s more than a bunch of pools or a fruity drink or the reputation it’s earned for itself over time. It’s deeper than anything you could read on Trip Advisor or find on Google maps. It’s more than just a location, it’s more than just a destination.
It’s a feeling. It’s an emotion. It’s a soul tugging pull. It’s a magnetic response that makes us come to this page every single day to check in.
But, more than that, we also come here to dream. We come To wish. We come to hope and plan and aspire. We come to reminisce. We come to remember. We come to slip inside an old memory like a comfortable robe that warms you to your core. We come to laugh and connect and tick off the days until next trip. We come to share our experiences. We come to garner knowledge. We come because it’s a way to kill time. We come to ogle and flirt and think about the WHAT IF’S. And most importantly, We come because we can. (Thank you, Joe!!)
We all have our reasons for being on this page. And for each and every one of us, Hedo means something completely different. For some it’s a vacation and for other’s it’s merely an aspiration. So, yes I could write a million blogs listing a million things that make Hedonism what it is and will continue to be. Or I could share this little bit of magic I’ve learned since I started going.
You don’t need to get on a plane and fly thousands of miles to find your happy. You don’t need to get naked in the Caribbean so that you can love yourself. You don’t have to beg, borrow or put yourself in debt to figure out who you really are.
So, you see…Hedonism isn’t a place. It’s not a getaway. It’s not a stamp in your passport. It’s a feeling. It’s a lifestyle. It’s this earthquake of emotion just bubbling up inside of you just waiting for you to stumble upon it. It’s joy. It’s passion. It’s hope. It’s bliss. It’s love. And it doesn’t start with a charge on your credit card. It doesn’t start with your name on a check. It begins right now. Right this second.
Hedonism isn’t just a resort in Jamaica. It’s here…in this blog. It’s in this computer. In this phone. On a crowded bus in the city. At your sticky kitchen table. It’s at the job that we hate. It’s in our unmade bed. It’s trying to cross a busy street. It’s in that book that we love. It’s in that song that we can’t stop playing. If you carry that knowledge with you, you’ll see firsthand that you don’t really need to GO ANYWHERE…because you’re already there.