Reflections on living more fully
What Makes You
Feel More Alive?
What my time in Peru helped me recognize about connection, contribution and making room for what nourishes us.
My son, Kerrsen, had just walked more than 1,000 kilometres across Peru, from Cusco through the Andes and into the Amazon, raising funds to help build a home for a family in Pucallpa. His journey, One Step at a Time, brought me back to a community we had first visited together the year before.
I joined him and his friends for the final kilometres. As we turned the corner onto the dirt road, the children came running toward us in their red shirts. People from the local community and those who had travelled from Montreal were coming together to welcome him. I felt overwhelmed with emotion. There was so much love, pride and joy in that moment.
It was one of many experiences during my time in Peru that left me feeling more alive, more connected and more open to what is possible.
Some of the moments I treasure most were much quieter. This year, I made a point of spending more time getting to know people. With the help of a translation app, I sat and talked with young people, mothers and grandmothers. I spent time with the family whose home we helped build last year, the family we were building for this year, and their neighbours.
The children would come over for a hug, want to braid my hair or find a way to talk. There were celebrations, shared work and moments of play. Watching Kerrsen and his friends get a soccer game going with the children, I found myself joining in for a few minutes too.
I loved the ease with which we could become part of one another’s day. There was room to sit together, lend a hand, laugh and connect. I was deeply moved by the beauty of the community and the love within it.
Being part of a shared effort mattered to me too. Working alongside others, contributing to something greater than myself and seeing the difference we were making gave those days a sense of purpose. We could see the work taking shape and get to know the people whose lives it would touch. That connection between contributing, belonging and making a visible difference was deeply fulfilling.
Finding a different rhythm
Later, travelling on my own in the mountains, I experienced another kind of spaciousness.
There were long views, quiet moments and time to walk and reflect. I also shared meals and conversations with people who loved adventure, travel and the mountains. That connection was deeply nourishing too.
Standing before a panorama of the mountains and valleys Kerrsen had crossed, I was overcome again by the enormity of his journey.
Throughout the trip, my days had a rhythm that felt good to me. I was outdoors much more. I walked, explored, spent time with people and encountered something new almost every day. I enjoyed simple meals, went to bed early and slept well.
I felt healthier. I had energy. My attention was more often on what was happening around me, and I felt present and involved in my life.
There was also so much coming alive in my imagination. Conversations and encounters opened up possibilities for things we might share, create or contribute together. I came home with a broader perspective on my own life and how I might want to live in the years ahead.
What do I want to carry home?
Coming home has brought its own questions.
I can feel familiar patterns returning: work filling the day, meals to organize, and the effort of making sure I move enough, get outside and look after myself. Things that happened quite naturally while I was away now seem to require planning and attention.
I’m still sitting with that.
Travel gave me a different setting and a different rhythm. It also helped me recognize how much I’m nourished by community, contribution, movement, curiosity and time outdoors. Meaningful connection with others and quiet time on my own both had a place. So did the feeling of working toward something worthwhile with other people and seeing what we could accomplish together.
How can I give those things more room here?
Some of what I experienced is opening up larger questions about my future. Other parts could find expression through ordinary choices: making time to see someone, getting outdoors during the day, joining a shared effort in my own community or giving an idea enough attention to see where it leads.
I don’t have all the answers yet. But I want to listen to what this experience has shown me, and allow it to influence the way I live.
What nourishes you?
Perhaps you can remember a time when you felt more alive, more connected or more fully yourself.
What was present in your days then? Who were you with? What were you doing? What had you given yourself room to experience?
Perhaps you were learning, exploring or creating. Perhaps you were contributing to something you cared about, alongside people who cared about it too, and could see that your presence and effort made a difference.
Our lives can become so full that we lose touch with some of the things that nourish us. Remembering those moments can help us recognize what deserves our attention now.
As this year draws toward its close, that is the question I’m carrying:
What would I love to make more room for in my life, and what am I willing to change to make that possible?
Lianne
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