Endings: Where I've Been (Part 1)

On Christmas Eve we took an overnight flight to Kansai, Japan then hopped on the train to Kyoto as the sun rose. We were in our rented house on the edge of Higashiama by early afternoon. The air was crisp and cold and clean. The streets were silent. A calmness permeated everything. And I knew without a doubt that this was the end of an era and beginning of a new way of existing. An unnamable spark that tasted like magic and dissolved the jagged edges that had fallen like knives around me over the past several years. And in a single moment, I severed every perception I had absorbed from the world around me and drank in dreams. 

During the last week of December as we explored temples, walked the philosopher's path, and soaked in countryside hot springs, I began think about these final posts. How could I possibly sum up ten years worth of travel and life experiences? When I began to think back, what happened quite surprised me. As each year flooded through me, they began to condense and distill into something like an essence, an energy, a single word. If there's not a word for this experience, there really should be.

• 2016: Leap
• 2017: Stay
• 2018: Community
• 2019: Expand
• 2020: Isolation
• 2021: Reconnect
• 2022: Surrender
• 2023: Hope
• 2024: Collapse
• 2025: Resilience 

I don't need to summarize or recount each year. There are 100+ posts full 100+ reasons why these words resonate. And they are there for anyone to dive into and read. 

Back when I lived in Santa Cruz, California, I kept an online journal that I started the month I moved there (January 2004) and ended the month I left (December 2015)—twelve years worth of entries that encapsulate those years. The only difference here is an energetic one, not a physical one. I'm not moving, but my energy has shifted in ways I cannot ignore. 

This blog began as a travel log of sorts to capture my leap of faith, to follow my curiosity and see where it would take me. I quit my job, I got rid of everything that wouldn't fit into my car, and I flew across the world to travel through India, Nepal, and Southeast Asia. It has been a fun exploration of travel, books, and musings. But now it is time to start a long, indefinite pause and redirect my energy. 

So, what next? I will explore this question in Part 2. But until then...

Here's a challenge: Can you distill your past ten years into ten words—words that encompass each year down to its essence? Tell me about what you learn from this practice of self-reflection.