Going Nowhere Fast- EP 448

You know you need something, you're just not sure what. You've been listening, you're doing the work, but there's still this feeling that you're circling the same place, like you're waiting for the thing that finally moves you. Now maybe you've thought about working with me one-on-one. Maybe something's held you back, the timing, the money, or you're just not sure you're ready yet.

I get that. And I want you to know there's still a place for you.

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You know, life moves fast. We rush from one obligation to another, planning for tomorrow, worrying about yesterday, and often forgetting the only thing we truly have— that's the present moment. As I write this, I'm sitting on my bed aboard a cruise ship in my cabin, sailing from Athens towards Split, Croatia. The Ionian Sea stretches endlessly outside my window, moving past me at about 22 miles an hour. That's not fast, especially compared to the speed of modern life, and really, maybe that's the point. That's the speed that the cruise ships go. It's going to take us more than a full day to travel from Athens to split, uh, which is something that's really an interesting experience. This trip has been an invitation, really almost a command, for me to slow down, to take a deep breath, and learn what it really means to enjoy the ride of life. Now, when you first aboard a cruise ship— this is my first experience— you expect adventure. You think about the exotic destinations, the food, the entertainment. What you don't really expect, or what I didn't expect, is the stillness of it all. As I said, the captain announced that we'd be traveling around 22 to 25 miles per hour. And that struck me. I'm so used to planes whisking us across continents in hours, trains that blur the scenery into streaks of colors, cars that shave time off of every trip. But a cruise, it's different. We cruise, it cruises. It takes, you know, hours, days to travel between two nearby ports. And at first, for someone like me, that might sound frustrating. But then I realized the hidden lesson. Life isn't meant to be rushed. We're all going to reach our destination eventually. But what if the real gift is found in the journey itself? In watching the water, in talking with strangers, in sitting still with your own thoughts. The slow rhythm of the ship reminded me that sometimes the best thing you can do is to ease up on the accelerator and let let life unfold at its natural pace. Now, one of the great joys of this trip has been seeing places I've dreamed about for years and others I really hadn't even imagined. And when I say I dreamed about, I've watched them on TV, but I never expected to actually see them. So I saw Venice with its canals and its timeless charm. The, the ancient, uh, ancientness of that city just blew me away. The history, the culture, that flows just as freely as the water between the— beneath its bridges. Beneath its bridges, I should say. Santorini with its dramatic cliffs, with the whitewashed homes and deep blue sea. The mules are the donkeys that carry people up. A place that almost doesn't seem real until you stand in the middle of it. And walking the 587 steps up the Santorini cliffs, an experience of a lifetime, one I'll never experience again, but the experience of a lifetime. Mykonos, with its vibrant colors, with the winding streets and the breathtaking ocean views, and having, uh, just stopping by a little, uh, bar, uh, seaside bar and having a drink, uh, was a wonderful experience. So travel reminds us of how small we are, I guess, in the best possible way. Standing in these great places, I couldn't help but feel grateful I'm grateful for the chances to see beauty that exists far beyond my daily routines. Grateful to be alive in this moment with these sights before my eyes. Going to the top of the Acropolis, climbing up there, seeing the Parthenon, understanding just how old this was, it is, and the effort that it took to build that, the vision it took to build that. Just an incredible moment. So it's easy to get caught up in the grind, focusing only on problems and responsibilities. But when we pause, when we look around, and we notice beauty, whether it's in an ancient Greek island or in the way the sunlight hits our own backyard, we reconnect with gratitude. This morning, I went out on the deck of the ship as the sun rose over the sea and took some great photos of just the sunrise, you know, not something that's historical or ancient, but something that's eternal that happens day after day. No, one of my most memorable experiences didn't really happen on shore. It happened in the ship's Schooner Bar. It's a little cozy piano bar that quickly became a gathering place for people from all over the world. And one night the guy there was playing a tribute to Elton John. Another night, he sang hits from the '70s and '80s. But what surprised me wasn't the music itself. He was a pretty good singer, not great, pretty good piano player, but it was the crowd. There are people here on the ship from every continent speaking every language imaginable. And they're belting out the lyrics like word for word. They swayed, they clapped, they sang together, they got up and danced as if they'd known each other for years. And I really sat there amazed, you know, people growing up in different cultures, different countries, speaking different languages, somehow they all know the words to the same songs. And the feeling of spirit that went through that room was just amazing. You know, like, like your best church service. And it hit me because we share more than we realize. Music is universal. Joy is universal. The longing to belong, to connect, to celebrate life— that belongs to all of us. And in that bar, surrounded by voices from all around the world, I saw proof that what unites us is far stronger than what divides us. And that's a truth worth carrying home. Now, while I've been on this journey, also heard news that really brought me a lot of sorrow. I heard it today, a political figure that only recently heard about, Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed. And as I understand it, around the same time, there's a tragic shooting in Colorado. And frankly, I don't know a lot of details about the shooting in Colorado, because the internet here is bad. And I've been really busy. But Even on vacation, you can't fully escape the world's pain. And really, maybe we shouldn't. And I don't want to dive too deeply into politics here. But I do want to pause on this one word, and that word is empathy. Charlie Kirk is famous for saying something like, you know, empathy is something that was made up by the left or something to that effect. And it troubles me when I hear people dismiss empathy as weakness or something the other side invented. Empathy isn't weakness, it's humanity. And we lose empathy, we lose our ability to see others as human beings. We begin to justify violence, hatred, and division. And then tragedies multiply. And both sides do this, and both sides are to blame. And Charlie Kirk made some comments also about the Second Amendment, and how it's okay that we need to sacrifice some lives to protect that right. But I don't think Charlie Kirk ever expected it to be his life that was sacrificed. Or maybe the life of one of his children, because of that lack of empathy. Now, as I sat on the ship reflecting on the beauty I was experiencing, I also feel the weight of the world's pain. The contrast reminds me of something vital: we need both awareness and compassion if we're going to heal as individuals and societies. And it reminds me that enjoying the ride of life does not mean ignoring the suffering around us. It means choosing empathy and kindness even when it's hard. Now, as I've been on this cruise, and I've been having this experience, the power of GEMS becomes even more apparent to me. I always talk about gratitude, exercise, meditation, and self-care. And these four pillars, they're simple, but they're really life-changing. I'm grateful for the opportunity to travel, to have these old friends, and for the gift of time. To be able to experience this with them and with all the other strangers on the ship. Meditation found in the quiet mornings, not as much formal meditation, but just going on the balcony of the cabin, staring at the sea, breathing deeply and letting thoughts just drift. One, one day I did a meditation, just looking at the ocean. And self-care, probably the most important of all, allowing myself to rest without guilt. It's been Nearly 2 weeks, almost a full 2 weeks since I've actually done a serious amount of work, being away from my desk. This has given me a space to renew and to reset. So given this cruise and give me space to practice gems in ways that I really hadn't before, it reminded me again that caring for ourselves is not selfish, it's necessary. And when we invest in these small daily practices, we set ourselves up to handle life's storms with resilience and with grace. Now, not every moment of this trip has been filled with sightseeing or adventure, as I mentioned earlier. Some of my favorite times are quieter times. Um, right now, today, I'm spending hours in my cabin simply resting. My friends are off doing their thing. Uh, I'm not really on the internet right now. I'm not working. I don't have any deadlines right now. It's just me, the sound of the ocean, and the knowledge that I don't have anywhere I need to be, and I couldn't be anywhere if I wanted to until another, uh, about another 9 hours, I guess. So in a productivity-obsessed culture, stillness often feels like laziness. But stillness is powerful. Stillness is restorative. When we give ourselves permission to stop, we recharge not just our bodies, but our minds and our spirit. That part of— that's part of what it means to enjoy the ride of life, not filling every moment with noise and activity, but embracing the quiet spaces that allow us to breathe and to just be. So this cruise has been more than a vacation. It's been a reminder. It's been a reminder that life is not about how quickly we can get from point A to point B. It's not about collecting destinations, achievements, or possessions. Life is about the ride itself. It's about the friends we travel with, the strangers who become companions, the songs that unite us, and the moments of illness that renew us. It's about gratitude for beauty, empathy in the face of pain, and the self-care that sustains us. We're all going to get to our final destination eventually. But the goal of life, if there is one, is to live fully along the way. So today, I want to leave you with this invitation. I want you to slow down, breathe deeply, and enjoy the ride of life. Wherever you are today, take some time and take some deep breaths. So if this resonation reflects with— resonates with you, I'd love to continue the conversation. Join me on substack.com at grief2growth.substack.com, where we explore how to live more fully even through life's hardest seasons. And if you're here with me on Substack, leave a comment below. Have a great day wherever you are.

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