Travel has a way of expanding us - not because of how much we see, but because of how deeply we see it.
On our recent trip to London, I was reminded how joy isn’t found in the intensity of a packed itinerary or the pressure to “maximize the moment.” For us, travel is never about checking boxes. We roam. We wander. We eat. We soak in the world around us without rushing toward the next thing. And somehow, that energy makes itself known.
Interestingly at the Heathrow airport, a young British woman approached us and asked for help with directions. She smiled and said, “You all just look like you know what you’re doing.”
I laughed, because the truth is—we didn’t have a plan. What we did have was presence. We were grounded, together, and open to the experience unfolding around us.
And maybe that’s what she saw.
Because when you travel with presence - when you choose to notice the small joys, the unexpected conversations, the shared glances, the silly signs, the warm pastries, the perfect cup of coffee - you begin to emit a different kind of calm. People feel it. You feel it. The world feels a little more connected.
That doesn’t mean everything goes smoothly. There are always hiccups. Delayed flights, long walks, wrong turns, weather you didn’t expect. But when you see those moments as part of the story rather than interruptions to it, they soften. They even become part of the joy.
London reminded me that the magic isn’t in the landmarks. It’s in laughing with your family as you navigate a new Tube station. It’s in watching the world move around you from a café window. It’s in the simple gratitude of being somewhere new and being together.
Joy is quantum that way - it expands when you pay attention.
And the more present you are, the more the world opens up.
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