Creating with intention
Here in Nepal, I’ve found the best moments are often the simple ones: quiet street corners, afternoon coffee, morning walks to the monastery, sunsets on mountain peaks, smiles exchanged with neighbors, the look on a student’s face when they understand.
I can’t help but wonder what America would be like if more people embraced simple.
Keep it simple today.
Before traveling to Nepal, I did some major quitting: I quit my job, quit a relationship, quit where I was living, and quit some hard held beliefs about the way life should be lived. At the time, I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. The pieces were there, but the puzzle wasn’t coming together.
After taking time to revisit my go-to list of dreams (I suggest you write a list of your own), I set out to follow my heart. To many on the outside, not much seemed sensible about heading off to a different country to work for free and climb mountains. It might have been one of the best decisions of my life.
If you’re stuck, if something feels askew, consider whether there is something you can set aside. If it’s meant to be, it will be there after you’ve found renewed energy and refreshed commitment. Perhaps you discover what was missing all along, something beyond anything you could have possibly imagined.
Quitting isn’t easy. It takes guts and courage and conviction to ditch plans and rewrite stories.
Make up your mind to discover adventure. Begin to write down the dreams that come to mind. Wander through the travel section of your local bookstore and observe which titles you pick up.
You don’t have to wait until you plan something. Here are 80 ways to get started.
No one is remembered for playing it safe.
Life is for experiments, making messes, screwing up, breaking things, smiling, laughing, crying, loving, grieving, starting anew.
Again.
And again.
And every time it is different.
If you think your life’s purpose needs to hit you like a lightning bolt, you’ll overlook the little day-to-day things that fascinate you.
While fundraising for the Discover Outdoors Foundation, I learned Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. One quarter of its people live on less than $1 a day and barely half of them are literate. After some research and plenty of emails, I found a local agency that places volunteers in projects across the country. My bags are filled with crayons, games and animal balloons, and I’m teaching English to kids before trekking to Everest’s Base Camp.
You won’t see quite as many posts in the upcoming weeks. In fact, as you’re reading this, I’m on one of several flights leading me to the Himalayas.
I feel incredibly blessed to have the freedom to connect and converse and discover and explore with people around the world. And I’m filled with a deep sense of gratitude for the confidence that comes with the support, love, and backing of so many. This journey has been magnified by the monumental encouragement I have received from friends, colleagues, clients, and strangers. It’s an incredible gift to do work you love, from anywhere.
I’ve debated whether or not to post while I’m away. I’ve toyed with the paranoia of disconnecting for an extended period of time. “But the momentum…but the readers…but…but…” I’ve considered the risks that come with automated content, as I’ve witnessed scheduled generalities firsthand during Hurricane Sandy. I remember sitting in a trembling NYC apartment, listening to water slosh around in the toilet bowl, and reading tweets advertising “10 creative ways to green your kitchen.” There’s a sensitivity and presence that is oh-so-irreplaceable, and fresh and timely cannot be undervalued.
I’m not quite sure what my access will be while I’m away, but I know I want to be present to my experience and not worried about technical malfunctions, open rates, or traffic. Absence alone can be lighter fuel for ideas, dreams, creation.
That said, you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be blogging the “ole’ fashioned way” while I’m traveling — via journal and pen. You’ll find a few posts in your inbox (if you’ve signed up to receive them), but with less regularity. And if the mood strikes, I’ll pop into an internet cafe and post a few thoughts.
Count on a treasure trove of goodies upon my return. Project Exponential has some incredible, very exciting changes in the works, and I can’t wait to share them with you.
Until then, go find adventure, plan a few dinner partiers, put yourself on a weekend sabbatical, and become an explorer in your own neighborhood. Your community needs it. You need it.