Eric is the ultimate camp counselor - not only does he organize all our outdoor adventures but he listens as intently as a trained therapist. His IQ and EQ rival for superiority.
Daniela is unconvinced that time is linear and therefore packs in loads of creativity and fun right up until the airline gate is closing for departure. She is fascinated by theoretical physics and is in awe of the Natural world.
Grace (11) has a supernatural capability to empathize. She adores wildlife, studying animal medicine, animal anatomy, and the time of day we affectionately call “chocolate hour”. She also likes cheese. A lot.
William (9) is naturally even more optimistic (if that is possible) than his momma. He is an impressive fisherman and FIFA fanatic. He enjoys eating cornflakes from the box and planning his next business.
All these qualities aside, we like to hold our identities lightly.
At some point the four of us began noticing a magical state of mutual joy, meaning, and connection. We wanted more, but, what exactly was this time-slowing state-of-being? FLOW. Thanks to Csikszentmihalyi’s (rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?) book Flow, we had a framework for this allusive but alluring experience.
We could pop into it almost as easily as we could burst right out. We could find it around a board game or a camp fire, but not while struggling to get out the door and never while comparing ourselves or our family to others.
One afternoon, on a backpacking trip in the mountains of our home state of Colorado, we decided to define it. What is family flow? And how do we find it? All four of us chimed in and arrived at strikingly similar conclusions.
For us, flow is a state of deep connectivity achieved most when we are unplugged and aligned with our authentic selves. We tap into it most often when we are traveling, spending time in Nature, serving others, learning, and pushing the boundaries of our comfort zones.
We know that finding flow certainly doesn’t require a round-the-world trip. However… deliberately reducing our belongings to 4 backpacks and walking away from our careers & commitments to explore the world seems like a pretty great recipe for flow!
Plus, there’s something to be said for following a big dream and striving to live in alignment with our most cherished values: freedom, expansion, adventure and connection.
As we share our trials and triumphs of living out our dream to travel around the globe and then settle somewhere, for some time, in some abroad place, we hope to stay connected with you here.
And if our desire to follow our passion and find flow inspires you to find alignment with your dreams too, we are deeply humbled.
