Taking Time To Reflect & Dream

Wednesday really snuck up on me this week! Two holidays in a row meant two days off of school for my boys which means I did not get much work done the last couple of days. When Bryson woke up this morning, he asked me if it was ‘Wanderlust Wednesday’ – they know that is the day that they wake up to me already at my computer drinking my coffee. Actually, this happens many mornings, but usually on Wednesday – the life of an entrepreneur! However, I was too tired to wake up early this morning to write. I stayed up late last night working on other tasks because I was not able to work a full day yesterday. Since the boys had the day off, I wanted to spend time with them. We went out for lunch, went to a park, and ended the day at soccer practice. Meanwhile, my Jewish friends were celebrating the start of their High Holy Days. L’shana Tova!

Since my love of travel stems from my love of culture, I would like to talk a little bit about these days which represent the most important religious season for Jews because I think there are lessons we can all take away from the High Holy Days. Rosh Hashana is the start of the Jewish new year and represents the possibility of new beginnings, while Yom Kippur is the day of atonement when Jews seek forgiveness for their mistakes. Thus, these holidays and the days in between are a time of reflection and introspection.

Sometimes, it is hard to slow down long enough to think about the things we have done wrong or would like to change going forward. Taking the time to chart out our dreams and make plans to follow through with them sometimes seems impossible. However, the Jewish culture brings these things to the forefront of their tradition and sets aside ten days each year for this purpose. Perhaps, we can all take a lesson from that. If the year and a half has taught us nothing else, we have learned that nothing is guaranteed. The longer we wait to follow through on our dreams (perhaps a bucket list trip?!), the more likely there are going to be obstacles in our way.

Without even realizing the parallels yesterday, I spent the last night working on my next business enhancement, Explore More Before. I was drafting language to help relay its purpose.

We want you to connect to your destination before you arrive so that your connection is even stronger when you are there. We want you to engage with those you are traveling with before you arrive so that you are building excitement together. Our goal at Explore More Family Travel is for you to ‘engage with each other, connect with the world’ – not just when you travel, but whenever possible.

You may think that this is a stretch, but I see a parallel in that Explore More is creating opportunities for clients to pause and reflect on their upcoming trip and spend time with those that matter in their lives, the people they are choosing to spend their vacation time. Time is our most precious commodity, and we should share the gift of time with those most important to us as often as possible. I think yesterday I inadvertently reflected on what is most important and made a point to spend quality time with my boys, even if it meant staying up late to work last night. I am setting forth the intention to spend the rest of this day reflecting on my dreams (which let’s be honest, are mostly travel based – I am currently dreaming about those $289 tickets from Charlotte to Madrid that I found earlier today …)