As we approach the end of the year and reflect back on our journey (thus far), we have much to be thankful for. This experience has been an amazing one to say the least. Our willingness to see what else is “out there” has opened both E and I in ways we couldn’t have imagined at the outset and given us something even more valuable, a new perspective.
After coming back to the States, many of you have asked some version of “what’s been your favorite place”. As some may have noticed, that’s been a challenging question for us to answer, proven by the fact the we likely never answered the same way twice. A few highlights that come to mind though: We loved exploring Kyoto and Naoshima, and more generally, the culture in Japan. Visiting Paris and consuming all the amazing art/architecture, culminating with a visit to the Musee d’Orsay to see the world’s best Monet collection was a highlight. We loved hiking through the Italian Alps during our stay in Buggio, Italy, a truly “off-the-grid” experience and must do for nature loving adventurists. Another was road tripping through Scotland, whose natural beauty is on par with some of the best scenery in the world. The ancient Pyramids of Giza, wow. You need to look no further for the enduring value of what man can create in coordination with one another than this 4500 year-old site. In general, Africa offered a diversity of unique experiences and history that were awe inspiring. We can’t wait to get back there. And finally, the American West, especially its collection of National Parks and protected lands, was by far more breathtaking than anything we saw all year. True treasures right here in many of our own back yard. Please, go see them pronto!
These experiences were only half the story. We’ve also been bolstered by what we learned along the way. There were many many lessons that we will carry forward with us in our lives. Here are a two that stick out:
1. Our world is amazingly rich in natural beauty. There’s no better artist, in my opinion, than Mother Nature and no better innovator than evolution. The intelligence of the natural world is truly humbling to see up close, and can teach us many things if we’re paying attention. As a couple, our respect for nature, including the infinite number of life forms within it, has grown tremendously.
2. We love people and especially those that we are fortunate to call friends and family. We missed ya’ll. By the third month, we had jettisoned many of our belongings down to the essentials as we grew an appreciation for traveling light. That said, we would have willingly carried many of you on our backs if it meant we could bring you along for the ride. We really missed our people, although we were held over by a stream of visitors we received along the way.
These and many other lessons from this year have been revelatory and will be used as elements as we design of our work and life together going forward. What does that look like? Well, we do have ideas for the longer-term, but for now, we want to maintain a semi-stable lifestyle that allows us the flexibility to work/travel while also allowing us still experience something new. So we decided move to the beach! We’re basing ourselves in Venice Beach for all of 2020 and hope to see many of you out west very soon.
With love,
The Washingtons