What is “Not a Pedestrian Life?” Not a Pedestrian Life is a way of living – a spirit of creative adventure, of hope and curiosity. It says that there is merit – honor even – in being an active participant in life.
While we talk about travel and adventure here, not a pedestrian life is not about travel, at least not exclusively.
During the pandemic we found ourselves relishing walks in the forest by our home. We looked forward to travelling again but noticed that there was still so much for us to experience just outside our front door.
Living “Not A Pedestrian Life” is a point of view. A point of view that welcomes opportunities for connection, for learning, and even for rejection. It allows for letting go, and taking up, for moments of joy, and for lamentation. It is about being present in the arena, in the midst of the messiness of life. There is value in both the hard and the easy, the aligned and the obstacle overcome: in extremist. While pedestrian evokes mundanity in the negative, we find immense beauty in the quotidian. Valuing home and the quotidian does not mean life is pedestrian. It means engaging with what is around you: nature and humanity alike.
We value community, both proximate and built over time near and far. Technology is a tool for building relationships, and it is important for how we maintain connections in this nomadic life. We are nomads, with a deep connection to place, and yet staying in one place or another only for a season.
We acknowledge that the world can be made better by small groups of people — and indeed that’s the only way anything has ever improved. Service isn’t just a watchword, it defines how we relate to our communities.
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along. ‘ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
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