Adventure
I kept waiting for the right way to close this chapter. And I finally feel like I am ready to turn the page. It’s time to sunset LetsHaveAnAdventure.com.
We have a home and two cars.
Our boys are settled in their school and we are busy with after-school activities.
We have connected with friends new and old.
We are growing roots.
And somehow, for me, starting to work again felt like the final period, on the end of the final sentence, of this chapter.
This work didn’t come easy. I have been out there sowing seed after seed. Sometimes frustrated. Sometime second guessing myself, turning away from opportunities that didn’t feel right. But then just like that, with lots of water, sunshine and lunch dates - here I am - in a garden of abundance.
The past month, I have been freelancing at a beloved ad agency on a category I know inside and out. And as I hop on calls, I’m forever blown away by how many faces I know and how easy it all comes rushing back. I also had the privilege of facilitating a two-day Design Thinking workshop with a Fortune 500 company, which has always been a dream. Plus, I have the opportunity to consult for a global company launching their brand in Japan. It’s a blast and it feels oh so good.
And, I am writing this from MY home office. Yes, a whole space dedicated to me and my next.
I think the hardest part is not losing sight of the perspective that five years away brings. The new constant tether to a device so you can quickly respond to Teams chats, the busyness of kid’s lives, the busyness of America. It took time, but I welcome it all - from a place of mindfulness, gratitude and intension.
So as we move forward, here’s the 7 perspectives I’d like to bring with me:
1. Everywhere You Go, There You Are - Even on the other side of the planet, I naturally created what I always create. In the safest space where I had the chance to be the most authentic version of me - there I was…still me.
2. Community Is Everything - It’s all about the people, the people, the people. It’s the humans that make everything so beautiful. Shared experiences. Intimate friendships. Group laughter. Community is everything.
3. Embracing Change - The only thing constant is change. So instead of fighting it, take a deep breath, throw your shoulders back and dance forward with gusto. And in that change, you change. I can’t fit the new me, back into the size and shape of the old me. Instead, I embrace the growth.
4. Feeling Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable - There is a heightened sense of being alive when everything is foreign. The routines are shaken up and all 5 senses are in overdrive. It’s wild what we can learn when we shake free of what we know and open ourselves up to the unknown.
5. Quiet - I notice I often walk in the mornings in silence. I bring my headphones but rarely put them in. I miss the calm and the quiet of Japan. The void of input. What a gift to now be able to be so present in my own mind. It has helped me become even more in tune to the knowing within. My gut, I fully trust it.
6. Japanese Principles - These Japanese philosophies will forever change the way I see the world:
Ikigai - Why you get up in the morning, which is the intersection of: What you love | What you are good at | What the world needs | What you can be paid for
Wabi Sabi - The beauty of imperfection
Kintsugi - When you fix a crack, it becomes even stronger
Kikubari - We before me
Shinrin-yoku - Forest bathing and the idea that nature heals all
7. Adventure - The definition of the word “adventure” expanded for our family back in April 2018. Because of this experience we got to feed zebras in Bali, freedom camp in New Zealand, spend a summer in Australia, visit my sister in London, dance in Thailand, run the Great Wall (and have surgery) in China, eat the spiciest of foods in Korea, get a degree in Singapore and squeeze out every last drop out of beautiful Japan - the country that will forever have my heart. From the quiet ski slopes we had all to ourselves in Nozawa Onsen to the warm shores of the Okinawa islands. From the bustling Tokyo city life with its 5:00 bell, to the crickets outside our bedroom every night as we slept with our windows open. Sometime when I get very quiet, my mind takes me back to being on my bike, playfully gliding down the street by Arisagawa park, witnessing the cherry blossoms change in Aoyama and celebrating Fall on Gingko Avenue. And the food. Oh the food. And the friendships that will last a lifetime. But most importantly, a family that’s forever bonded. Tighter and stronger than ever.
Yes, this is the last entry but thanks to how this experience has changed us (and the name of our new dog) we will never stop having an “Adventure’.
xo - Mel
