Hello friends,

As some of you may know, my wife and I recently allowed ourselves roughly half of last year to travel and pursue some of our life’s “bucket-list” items. I’ve intentionally held off on reflecting too much on those experiences until this past week, feeling that it wouldn’t be until we began to “settle back in”, that I would even be able to comprehend what we had just endured. It is my hope that I will continue to reflect on the people we’ve met, places we’ve seen, and perspectives we’ve gained for the rest of my life.

Long-term travel is a funny thing. It changes you in ways that are incredibly difficult to explain. In certain ways, I feel that waiting to travel like we did until our late 20’s (early 30’s), was the only way to do it. On the other hand, by that time you can become quite rooted in who you are, your beliefs, etc. I personally found it quite a turbulent transition to go from our day-to-day in Nashville, to backpacking in foreign countries. Mind you, I also felt like I was better prepared than most, because I had coincidentally enough spent the previous 3-years in and out of tour buses, hotels, and less than ideal situations while touring and traveling with bands/artists. I would say that it realistically took me a good three months of travel to fall into my stride, and start to enjoy the experience. That may sound odd, but that’s just how it was for me.

Regardless, between the 17 countries and 35 cities that we visited between Europe and Asia, that time in my life will always be cherished so deeply. What I can say with great confidence, is that of all the places we visited, the people that we met along the way were exponentially more impactful that anything else combined. The level of hospitality, kindness, and wisdom that people worldwide shared with us is unexplainable. On several occasions, I was legitimately embarrassed to reflect on ways in which I’ve treated family, close friends, and strangers in the past. It is my hope that I will always remain humbled by, and inspired by the feelings of warmth and gratitude that others have shared with us. There were (literally) times in which if it were not for the assistance of complete strangers, that we would have found ourselves in very compromising and dangerous situations. I’m not sure if it was simply luck, or a testament to the inherit good-nature of human beings, but I continue to be amazed at how our trip is best described as a series of new friends either welcoming us into their homes, sharing a meal with us, or just giving us the priceless advice of which train to catch next!

While this post has already turned into a novel by today’s standards, I just wanted to take a brief moment to thank everyone that contributed to that chapter of our lives. It will never be forgotten, and I only hope that we can pay-it-forward to future travelers and the new people that we have yet to meet.

On a side note, you don’t need to backpack around the world to gain new perspective. Probably the most valuable piece of information that I retained, is that you can expand your world by simply taking a few extra moments out of your day to learn about the people around you. Everyone has a story, and simply taking the time to exchange names and shake a new hand every so often can do wonderful things for the human spirit. So do what makes you happy. Spend time with those you cherish. Look after each other. Create. Fail. Succeed. Fail again. Laugh. Don’t take it all too seriously. A special thanks to my wife who proved to be a better world traveller than myself, and a continued reminder of what hard work and perceverance looks like! 

Musically,
MV