How do you mark a milestone? Like a birthday or New Year’s? These are important events in our culture that we celebrate with friends and family. The passing of a year in someone’s life, or in our collective lives.
How do you stop one from bleeding into the other?
Years ago, my friend Ellen and I decided that instead of celebrating NYE with a party, champagne and noisemakers, we would travel. That way, we could remember how we capped off each year from a distance, and move forward to launch the next.
So far, we have traveled for every New Year’s since we made this decision, often with other friends joining us. Our trips have taken us to:
California Coast
Chile
Costa Rica
Dublin
Key West
Lake Tahoe
Las Vegas
London
New Orleans
New York
Panama
Puerto Rico
Romania
Scotland
Sydney
The Bahamas
Each of these trips is more memorable than any New Year’s party could possibly be. For us, life is about experience. Celebrating the new year and toasting the passing one is about honoring the experiences we have had in the past year, and anticipating the ones we will have in the coming one. And doing that while in the midst of a travel experience, one full of new sights, sounds, feelings, and more, is the most fitting way for us to really feel the potency of change.
So with that, Happy New Year to all! Here’s to making next year full of stepping out of our comfort zones, and searching out new experiences, whether they be abroad, or right here at home.