Our lives are nothing but one long journey. Our personal journey so far, has been more of a migration from our past life to where we are today. Even though our busy lives have been tackled at warp speed with many great achievements, most of the time, we have marched forward looking for that thing or opportunity that would make us happier, more fulfilled.

Sean and I have never been satisfied doing or being where we were at any given time. There are so many things we have wanted to do and achieve in our lives. We make a great team – no matter what endeavor we tackle. We have been able to create businesses with nothing but an idea, never-ending amount of energy and commitment to never give up. Many people would say we were “successful” and wished they had the guts to do what we have done in our lives.

With our “Journey of a Lifetime” last year, we had an amazing opportunity to do so much self-reflection. Honestly though, we did not know that our hiking the Pacific Crest Trail would change us so profoundly. We came home to post-trail depression. Struggling to fill a void in our lives we never knew we had. We no longer got pleasure out of “making things happen” and moving through life at the speed of light. We found ourselves withdrawing from the world around us just to spend quiet time together – like our days on the PCT. We realized that we found much more pleasure with the simple things in our lives.

While trying to sort out the “why” behind our general uneasiness, we stumbled on to the movement known as “Minimalism”. The more we learned, the more we realized that we have been the epitome of mass consumerism and none of what we had been doing with our lives was truly bringing us happiness and especially not fulfillment.

Living a life with less, in order to have more. The concept really spoke to us after we had experienced living 90 days with just the bare necessities needed for survival. I believe my motivation to tackle the PCT was more than just a bucket list wish. Reflecting back to where I was, what we were doing and evaluating our happiness, I believe there was much more to it and that is probably where our journey actually began.

So where do we go from here? Step one is simplifying and downsizing our lifestyle. Getting rid of the excess in our lives so we can focus on a much more deliberate life. Not allowing our busy lives to dictate what we do day-to-day. Discovering what we are passionate about and develop those passions. Contributing to others. Focusing on nurturing/strengthening current relationships and cultivating new. Bottom line…..we are living our lives in a more meaningful and deliberate way.

Once we have gotten rid of the excess in our lives, we will be filling our backpacks with the few items we know to be necessary and hitting the road. We are determined to discover the amazing country we live in and not just flying from airport to airport. Our journey will take us through our amazing National Parks coast-to-coast. We will travel by foot with some help from Amtrak and Greyhound services. Exploring mountains, small towns as well as big cities. Visiting with friends and family along the way to reconnect with those we have lost touch with. We have a basic plan, spanning a two year timeframe, but no schedule to dictate our journey. We have added another run at the PCT starting April 2018. Going to give it all we’ve got to try and make the Canadian border before winter sets in.

Many people have asked about blogging our adventures. Yes, we are not only blogging, but will document our journey in the form of a manuscript or book. Our blog is not up and running quite yet, but will be accessed at: www.WeAreLivingOurLives.com.  Sean and I want to thank everyone that has expressed their support and understanding. A special thanks to The Minimalists (www.theminimalists.com) who have shown us that there is so much more to life than that which is purchased and that joy can be found much easier without all the “stuff” that clutters our lives. We are excited for this new phase of our life’s journey to begin.

Happy Vagabonding!