I recorded Episode 22 from a pool pavilion at Amanzoe, sitting in the most beautiful room I've ever stayed in, processing one of the hardest weeks I'd had in a long time.
I talked about joy and about deserving it without earning it first, and about stopping the struggle. Greece tested every single word I said.
In the days that followed recording, I documented 22 service failures at Amanzoe. I got bitten by mosquitoes or no-see-ums, even on the soles of my feet. After, I went to Crete with joy, ate too much oily and salted food, sat in a magnesium pool, got a deep abdominal massage that activated everything, and spent my last night in Crete vomiting and on the toilet from 3:30am until checkout and my next flight.
Somehow there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for, and in the middle of it all, joy showed up anyway. And how it showed up was in the graciousness of the hotel staff at Tella Thera in Kissamos who delivered water to me at 4:30a, extended a late checkout, and didn't charge for the extra bottles of water I ordered so that I could hydrate myself. Or the Electrolytes remedy, or the focaccia bread they toasted for me to take in my taxi on the way to the airport. They made me as comfortable as possible, and with kindness.
Here's what I didn't share on the podcast, the week I arrived to Greece, and stayed at Euphoria Retreat, I got a cold with a deep cough nearly on arrival. Once I spoke my truth with someone, the cough subsided, yet wait, there was more.
Prior to the week of Amanzoe, while I was navigating lawyers and agreements that didn't feel right, I was introduced to Miguel, the warm and generous host of The Bellhouse, a beautifully renovated Greek house in Kranidi. He went above and beyond every single day to make sure I felt supported. And one evening, he and his partner Kosta invited me into their home and prepared a vegetarian dinner. We shared laughs, authentic conversation, and the kind of simple, generous hospitality that no five-star property can manufacture.
Joy looked like a Pattern App message that said your worth isn't tied to flawlessness, arriving the same morning I decided to stop making my boutique hotel vision more important than finding my own home.
Joy looked like meeting with Aali Ghufran, Director of Sales & Marketing at Amanzoe, who was just a kind and warm soul, which led to sharing a meal together at The Restaurant with incredible views and flavorful food.
Joy looked like booking the bigger helicopter, feeling nervous about whether I deserved it, and then hearing my spirit team say this is your norm as I lifted off over the Peloponnese to avoid the 2.5hr drive from Amanzoe to Athens airport.
Joy looked like dining solo at a table in Crete the first night, eating risotto made just for me because it was "sea night" and I was vegetarian. (Being solely raw vegan went out the window once I entered Greece; have you had the cheeses here?!)
Joy looked like sitting near the toilet at 6am watching the sun rise over Crete, hearing the birds sing, and thinking: I made it through the night.
I said in the episode that we deserve joy now. Not someday, and not after the struggle ends. Now.
And even though my stay at another luxury hotel in Athens had its share of slight disappointments in maintenance and cleanliness, the staff has a can-do, will-do, whatever-we-can-do-to-help-you-enjoy-the-stay attitude.
What I didn't know when I recorded the episode was that joy and struggle would run side by side for every single day of this trip so far, and maybe that was exactly the point. Because I teach and learn with every episode I share.
I also knew that I had Saturn transiting on my Ascendant during the precise time I was in Kranidi. IYKYK. The lawyers. The land with thorns. The agent who called my future home "a cheap house." All of it was happening exactly as it was supposed to, teaching me in real time what I was recording.
I am Already Regis®. Already whole, and already deserving.
And so are you.
With Gratitude, and 'til next time, enjoy the day however you can.
Lisa Eve
Listen to Episode 22: Feeling Joy, here, and wherever you listen to your podcasts.