🌍 Healing on the Move – How Travel Became My Therapy as a Single Mom

I didn’t plan to become a single mom.

I don’t think any of us do.

But life doesn’t always ask for permission before it rearranges everything.

When my marriage ended, I was left with a child, a suitcase of broken dreams, and the weight of trying to hold it all together with a smile. I was exhausted, lonely, and emotionally bankrupt. Every day felt like a battle between what I had to do and what my soul longed to do.

And then… I moved.
Not just emotionally.
Not just metaphorically.
I got on a plane.

✈️ The First Flight: Running or Reclaiming?

My first solo trip as a single mom wasn’t glamorous.
It was messy. I cried in the airport bathroom while my child napped in my lap. I second-guessed everything. But somewhere over the clouds between here and there, I remembered who I was before the world told me who to be.

Something cracked open.

I realized I wasn’t just running—I was reclaiming.
Reclaiming peace.
Reclaiming joy.
Reclaiming me.

💔 Grief Doesn’t Pack Light

Everywhere I went, my grief came too.
I sat on beaches with salt water in my eyes, not just from the ocean. I walked cobblestone streets with aching legs and an even achier heart. I sipped wine in foreign places trying to taste something that felt like hope.

But travel didn’t judge me.
It didn’t ask me to be okay.
It just opened up space.
And space is where healing begins.

🔑 Practical Gems From the Road

I don’t just want to romanticize my story. I want to equip you with the same tools that helped me move from surviving to sacred living—even as a single mom.

🧳 1. Start Small, Dream Big

You don’t have to fly to Bali. Start with a weekend trip two towns over. A change of scenery changes your frequency.
💡 Gem: Healing needs movement. The body and soul aren’t meant to stay stuck.

🧘🏽‍♀️ 2. Create a Ritual Wherever You Land

Light a candle. Say a prayer. Journal your arrival. Make the hotel your altar, the Airbnb your temple.
💡 Gem: Ritual grounds you. It reminds you that you’re not lost—you’re evolving.

💻 3. Blend Work + Wander (Without Guilt)

I brought my laptop, my tarot deck, and my courage. I freelanced. I coached. I wrote. And I allowed myself to earn and expand, even on the move.
💡 Gem: You don’t have to pause your purpose to heal. They can dance together.

🌙 4. Use the Moon as Your Map

I began timing my travel with the moon—flying on New Moons to plant intentions, resting during Full Moons to reflect and release.
💡 Gem: Nature’s rhythms support your restoration. Align with them.

❤️ 5. Be Honest With Your Kids

I didn’t hide my tears. I didn’t fake the smiles. I taught my child that healing is brave. That emotions aren’t weakness—they’re waves. And we learn to surf.
💡 Gem: You’re not damaging your child by being human. You’re modeling wholeness.

🌺 My Healing Passport

Today, I travel with less baggage—emotionally and otherwise.
I’m no longer ashamed of my story.
I am the woman who turned her breakdown into a boarding pass.

I’ve journaled under Tuscan moons.
I’ve danced barefoot in Dominican rain.
I’ve wept in the arms of strangers who became soul family.
And I’ve smiled again—authentically, not performatively.

Because healing on the move taught me that I’m not broken.
I’m blooming.

🕯️ Final Word: For You, Beautiful Soul

To the single mom reading this who feels buried under responsibilities, heartache, and doubt—I see you.

Start with one step.
One breath.
One adventure.

You don’t have to disappear to find yourself.
You just have to move—in body or in spirit—and let life meet you halfway.

And if no one told you lately:
You are worthy of joy.
You are allowed to start over.
You are so much more than your struggle.

And who knows?
Maybe your healing is just a passport stamp away.

With all my love and rawness,
Asa 🌸

TRANSCENDING TRAVEL