34 years old isn’t that old. But it’s old enough to have gone through some experiences that have shaped the foundation of who I am. There are certain values that I hold on to, and those values manifest themselves in seemingly default reactions and intuitions that play a huge part in my daily interactions with people and places. 

I told myself a while back that I never wanted to be that older guy who was stuck in his ways and would never change for anybody or anything. And yet here I am, thinking about times during this trip where I’ve defaulted to old ways of thinking, or moments where I felt like I was right, and no other way could possibly even come close to being as good of an option as what my opinion is. 

Talking with a wise friend this morning made me realize the value of setting up some foundation around your values and beliefs. As contradictory as it sounds, it’s actually freeing and liberating to have foundation, as it gives you the opportunity to build. It also gives you opportunities to take risks and explore, knowing that you won’t necessarily fall too far if things don’t land. 

We have passed the shores of Lake Superior and have started the drive along Lake Huron. We spent a night at a marina in Hilton beach, and missed our quiet campsites far away from others. It was an odd feeling being around so many people, and one that we will do our best to not repeat. So the next day, we got up bright and early and drove about 15 km outside of Espanola up logging roads to a small lake near Panache lake. We found a perfect spot right on this lake, where the sun was shining and no one was around. 

While watching turtles and sea snakes, we had some time to relax and do a bit of dreaming.

Dreaming is something that I tend to do quite a lot. I don’t mean necessarily in my sleep. Moreso, I often think about the things that I want to do, different business concepts I want to start or different cultures and places I want to experience. Annika and I spent some time thinking and dreaming about a restaurant concept. It was an interesting experience letting her take the lead on the dreaming, and just jotting down notes. 

It was a reminder to me of how important it is for me to dream. Dreaming gives opportunity for forward motion and direction. It doesn’t always come to fruition. Actually, for me, it rarely does. But through fleshing out those dreams and ideas, it has helped me to understand what it’s like to put myself into situations of what I can prepare if that dream was to come true. And it helps me to create a priority list of what are the dreams I really want to pursue. 

And really, it’s also just fun to dream. It’s fun to picture yourself doing something different than what you’re doing now. And one day, I’m sure these dreams will motivate something new.