A Return to the Pen
On a Plane to Lima, Peru
In Japan, there is the tradition of writing letters at the end of the year. In many cases, these are sent out to friends and family who have not been seen or communicated with over the long and busy year that has now passed. The Japanese also practice the end of year tradition of osoji, which is three days of thorough cleaning and throwing out the old to begin the new year fresh and clear of the past.
In keeping sync with Japanese culture, I am also returning my writing at the end of the year, picking up the pen once again after almost five months of mostly listening and observing in the U.S. There has certainly been quite alot to observe. Originally, this was to have been a six-week visit from Peru to see my family, but as life so often does, it took an unexpected detour into five months. The flow of life is always redirecting our best laid plans. During this time, I have enjoyed a very meaningful season with my family and quietly observed the ever-increasing pace of modern life in America in contrast to this past year in Cusco and Lima, Peru.
As most people are currently focused around the holiday season, I am also practicing end of the year osoji as I minimize my belongings once again and go through my mindful ritual of packing my life into one bag to set off on my return to South America, just below the equator in Peru as summer begins.
While many will be celebrating New Year’s Eve in their own special way, I will be welcoming the new year from my economy seat at 30,000 feet on the overnight flight to Lima. I will pass through customs at 5am on New Year’s morning and quickly look for the nearest cup of Peruvian coffee and one of those croissants I have missed so much.
Most of what I do at this point in life is observe and listen. I have had the great fortune and privilege to live in five different countries over the past five years and spent the last four Christmas’s in Kyoto, Costa Rica, Panama and Peru. I have moved through daily life in these other cultures by observing and listening and then writing about my experiences so that others might have the opportunity to catch just a small glimpse of life in these different countries and gain perspectives they might not otherwise have discovered. Most of my daily working hours are spent patiently listening to people from Japan talk about their work and daily lives in a completely different culture.
All of these experiences give me perspective.
There is great wealth in perspective that one cannot place any monetary value on. My sincere and humble hope is that over time and over these many miles these perspectives turn into some small measure of wisdom.
As 2025 begins a new year, I begin a new year of travels and experiences in South America. I leave winter behind and fly into the beginning of summer in Peru. I am excited to once again pick up the pen and return to my notebook and will be sharing my stories with you.
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
-Benjamin FranklinThank you for reading and coming along on the adventure.
Best of 2024
As we turn the page on 2025, perhaps you have some extra reading time over the holiday. Please savor a recap of the most enjoyed articles of 2024. Each one offers a lesson gleaned through the lens of a different perspective and a different culture. Here’s wishing you simplicity in 2025 and always the heart of an explorer.
The Beauty and Paradox of Solo Travel
Simplicity in a World of Chaos
Published Travel Articles
Enjoy published articles from my last five years of travel.
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Zen and Ink Journals represents hundreds of hours of writing over the past decade, sometimes from a train in remote China or a coffee shop in Kyoto, a hammock in Costa Rica or a simple cabin on a mountaintop in Boquete, Panama , Ciudad Colón or Cusco, Peru.
On these pages, I share my observations of kindness and beauty from my adventures in the world and invite you to listen quietly for the call within you to explore the places that beckon your soul.
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“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. A good artist lets his intuition lead him wherever it wants.”
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