Hi Club!

Last summer, we stayed near a long stretch of beach where you drive out on the packed sand. When I parked to walk with my dog, Gryphon, I wasn’t alone – every other car nearby had at least one canine companion too. This isn’t rare in our world anymore…and I’m ALL FOR IT! I meet travelers with non-human companions everywhere, including Cormack the pig, who was my campground neighbor for a stretch.

But here’s what I’ve observed: not all dogs travel the same. Sure, breeds give some indication of favorite places, but not always. On that beach walk, I watched an Australian Shepherd completely displeased with the wide open, choosing instead to launch into his car’s open hatchback even when a ball was thrown.

The Making of Paws in YOUR Places

Why stop at humans? After helping people discover their place personalities, creating a place personality quiz for dogs felt like the natural next step. Dogs clearly have preferences about where they feel comfortable and what experiences bring them joy.

My Process for Pattern Recognition
What do I do when I want to help people understand something important about their lives? I usually follow this process:

1. Start pulling together evidence from real experiences

2. Go through journals and observations

3. Research existing knowledge

4. Mash it all together to identify common characteristics

You’ve heard me talk about how patterns emerge (mostly in the middle of the night) until I have a clear feel for the distinctions. My scientific method may not pass academic scrutiny, but what emerges? You guessed it – another assessment.

Drawing from Personal Experience
My Gryphon turned 15 in September, and when I think back on our travels together, I cherish every one – even the learning moments. Like the 4th of July at Palmer Lake, Colorado, when I thought it would be great to have him with us. Nope. When the fireworks started, he couldn’t get under our Bronco fast enough. I thought about these mishaps as I developed the traits, hoping to save you from making the same mistakes with your four-legged friend.

Professional Insights Shape the Framework
In my work with people, some of my favorite moments involve witnessing the bond between humans and their service, therapy, or support animals. I once flew from Munich next to Frieda, a Great Dane, and watched how perfectly in sync she was with her person. I pulled from those experiences, too.

The Unexpected Complexity
When I first sat down to create the Paws in YOUR Places questions, I thought I was building a simple tool to help dog owners understand their pets’ travel preferences. What I ended up with was something far more complex: a mirror reflecting not just our dogs’ personalities, but the profound ways they shape us, challenge us, and ultimately save us from ourselves.

The Breakthrough Moment
Much like with the YOUR Places Stamps, the key insight came when I stopped thinking about permanent personality traits and started considering life stages and situational preferences. Just as humans might be extroverted in some contexts and introverted in others, dogs shift between different aspects of their personalities depending on their age, health, energy level, and relationship with their humans.

The Challenge of Simplification
This assessment was particularly tough to whittle down without feeling left with just generalities. I hope the four stamps provide insight into your pup without leaving too much wanting. Yes, just like humans, canines get stamps too. See below.

The Final Framework
The four stamps I ultimately developed – Loyal Shadow, Social Ambassador, Chill Explorer, and Comfort Seeker – aren’t meant to lock dogs into rigid categories. Instead, they’re starting points for understanding the complex patterns of how our dogs experience the world. Many dogs will see themselves in multiple types, and that’s exactly the point. Like their humans, dogs contain multitudes.

The Loyal Shadow: “Your Devoted Co-Pilot”

These dogs measure happiness by proximity to their favorite human. They follow you from room to room, prefer intimate settings over crowded spaces, and look to you for guidance in new situations. Their ideal vacation is anywhere you are, as long as they can stay close. Think quiet hiking trails, scenic drives, and cozy cabins where bonding is the main activity.

The Social Ambassador: “Your Networking Specialist”

The extroverts of the dog world, these pups thrive on social energy and bustling environments. They greet everyone enthusiastically, love busy dog parks during peak hours, and get genuinely excited by crowds. Their perfect destinations include pet-friendly festivals, busy farmers markets, and dog-friendly breweries where they can work the room like the four-legged social butterflies they are.

The Chill Explorer: “Your Adventure Buddy”

These are the adaptable adventurers who thrive on variety and new experiences. They’re confident, curious, and love diverse landscapes and terrains. Unlike Loyal Shadows who want consistency, or Social Ambassadors who want crowds, Chill Explorers want novelty. They’re perfect for multi-city road trips, park adventures, and urban exploration where every day brings something new.

The Comfort Seeker: “Your Cozy Companion”

These dogs gravitate toward safe, calm, home-like environments. They prefer peaceful settings with minimal stimulation, need time to adjust to new places, and find happiness in familiar routines and comforts. Their ideal trips involve luxury pet resorts, quiet lakeside cabins, or charming small towns where the pace is slow and the atmosphere is tranquil.

Why Four Made Sense

The challenge wasn’t finding differences between dogs – it was limiting myself to just four categories. But as I observed patterns, these four themes kept emerging:

The need for connection (Loyal Shadow), the drive for social interaction (Social Ambassador), the desire for variety and adventure (Chill Explorer), and the preference for peace and predictability (Comfort Seeker).

What’s beautiful is that like humans, dogs can shift between these personalities depending on their age, health, mood, and circumstances. Gryph, for instance, has been primarily a Loyal Shadow throughout his life, but I’ve seen glimpses of the other three types during different phases and situations. As a young dog, he was more of a Social Ambassador, gradually becoming a Comfort Seeker as he aged. His Chill Explorer years were some of my favorites and only strengthened his bond with us.

The goal isn’t to label your dog permanently, but to understand their current patterns so you can plan experiences that honor who they are right now, while remaining open to how they might evolve.

The Journey Lives On

As I write, I’m acutely aware that Gryph and I are nearing the end of our shared journey. But the lessons he’s taught me about love, loyalty, and the importance of presence will continue long after he’s gone. The Paws in YOUR places assessment isn’t just a place-finder tool; it’s for every dog who has chosen to make a human their whole world.

Whether your pup is young and energetic or old and wise, whether they’re just beginning their journey with you or nearing the end, remember that every day with them is a gift. Every quiet moment, every gentle adventure, every simple act of choosing each other over all other options is a small miracle.

Travel with them while you can. Explore the world through their eyes. Let their love of quiet moments and simple pleasures remind you what really matters. And always remember that in choosing you as their favorite place, they’ve given you the greatest form of love.

Please take the Quiz HERE

I’d love to know whether these stamps capture your dog’s personality. (I’m hearing it gives some insight into felines, too.) Does your pup fit neatly into one category, or do you see them shifting between multiple types like Gryph?

I’m still in the early testing phase, so your feedback is invaluable. Whether the stamps hit the mark or miss completely, I want to hear about it. Your real-world experiences with your four-legged travel companions will help refine this tool for other dog lovers navigating the world with their best friends.

Drop a comment below. Every insight helps me understand if I’m onto something or if it’s back to the drawing board.

Thanks. Please tell your dog I say “hi”,

Natalie

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It seems fitting to end this series with renewal. My journey creating these stamps and sharing on Substack has brought me to a place where I need to stop and assess how to move forward.

Trudge on? Refine and polish? Find something new?

There’s a lot of research on how we adjust to change, and a ton of variables that trigger our shifts. Sure, you could argue it all comes down to semantics. Change is change, whether you call it progress, adjustment, or transformation. As if it’s all the same beast, but it’s not.

There’s the change that life throws at you—divorce, job loss, illness—where you’re just trying to keep your head above water and survive. While these moments can surely bring on renewal, depending on our outlook and perspective, they’re fundamentally reactive. You’re adapting to something that happened to you.

Then there’s the change you go looking for because something inside you knows it’s time to shake things up. This is proactive transformation. It’s the kind where you sense you’re ready to grow and actually do something about it.

That second kind? That’s the renewal I was going for with this stamp. But the more I sorted through it, the messier, deeply personal, and intensely unique it became.

There’s a big difference between being pushed into change and choosing to walk toward it. Both can be transformative, but only one puts you in the driver’s seat of your own becoming. The Renewal Seeker stamp is for the places that bring us into new phases in our lives, push us to take on new interests, or help us double down on the parts of ourselves we want to boost up and expand.

The Renewal Seeker stamp is part of the Growth & Transformation pillar. For more information about the framework, see THIS POST.

Not sure if you are a Renewal Seeker? Find YOUR Places Stamp HERE.

Want more Renewal Seeker basics? See HERE.

Download the Renewal Seeker Planner & Journal at the bottom of the post.

This stamp is also about the quieter side of change. Those moments when you find yourself in places that help you figure out who you’re becoming. You walk in as one version of yourself and leave as someone slightly different.

I chose to focus on the type of renewal you actively pursue. Not the kind that life forces on you when everything falls apart, but the kind where you sense it’s time to grow and actually do something about it. It also includes recognizing when you’re ready for change and then finding places that support that transformation.

As I reflected on the places that gave me courage to break old patterns, I realized they aren’t exactly earth-shattering destinations, but they sure did break me open. I see this in therapy sessions, too. A client will share that they were just going along with their workday when suddenly it no longer seemed to fit.

As we walk through renewal together, I’ll share some of my own transformative places, with the caveat that their power had more to do with my readiness for change than with their inherent magic. I’ll also give ideas to help you seek out your own renewal places, recognize when you’re in a season of life that’s calling for renewal, and discover ways to make transformation happen.

Truths About Renewal

Let’s start with three truths about renewal that rang true for me as I shaped this stamp:

#1: Renewal is cyclical, not linear. We don’t just renew once and call it done. Like seasons, it happens again and again throughout our lives. Sometimes it’s subtle, maybe just a gradual shift in perspective. Other times it’s dramatic—a complete life overhaul that leaves you wondering who you were before.

#2: Renewal requires release. You can’t add new patterns or habits without releasing old ones. This is why renewal often feels uncomfortable. You’re essentially grieving parts of yourself that you’ve outgrown while simultaneously birthing new aspects of who you’re becoming.

#3: Renewal is both active and passive. Sometimes you chase it down by booking that transformational retreat or taking that leap of faith. Other times it finds you through loss, change, or unexpected opportunities that crack you open in ways you never saw coming.

Your Brain on Renewal

I always have to be clear about the why behind each stamp’s traits. With the Renewal Seeker, I went all over the place on the whys; probably because they are all so personal. Here are a few that seemed to stick:

Why We Resist It:

• Fear of Loss: What if we lose parts of ourselves we actually want to keep?

• Identity Attachment: We become attached to our stories about who we are.

• Social Pressure: Others might resist our changes because it challenges their own stagnation.

• Comfort Zone Addiction: Familiarity feels safe, even when it’s limiting.

• Perfectionism: We wait for the “perfect time” or “perfect plan”.

Why We Need It:
With all this resistance, why on earth would we do it? Here’s a few that come to mind.

• Evolutionary Advantage: Adaptation is how humans have survived and thrived

• Psychological Health: Stagnation leads to depression and anxiety

• Life Satisfaction: Growth and meaning are fundamental human needs

• Resilience Building: Each renewal cycle builds our capacity to handle change

Four Renewal Focus Areas

So to clarify, we’re talking about the “take the bull by the horns” type of renewal. It’s what brings forth an active, positive approach to altering your life. I’ll walk you through four phases that keep showing up in my work and my life. These aren’t rigid steps you have to follow. They’re more like themes that tend to emerge when we’re using places to help us transform.

Phase 1: You Seek It Out

While yes there are times the best changes to our lives are not our doing, this is the renewal you have at least some say over. But first, you need to recognize that something needs to shift. This often shows up as:

• Feeling stuck or restless

• Old solutions no longer working

• A sense that you’ve outgrown your current life

• Craving experiences that challenge or stretch you

• Feeling disconnected from who you used to be

Ironically, once we recognize the need for renewal, we often resist it. If you are in a resistance phase of your renewal process you may be:

• Making excuses for why “now isn’t the right time”

• Clinging to familiar patterns that no longer serve

• Fearing the unknown

• Convincing yourself you should be grateful for what you have

These moments over my life sure made me uncomfortable, but that discomfort kept me launching into that next person I was to be.

A ski season in Aspen, Colorado. I was young and just out of college. I knew I was ready for somewhere new, but convincing myself to stay through an entire season—rather than running back to do what was expected—led to one of the most formative years of my life.

That winter taught me that sometimes renewal requires you to stay put long enough to let a place work on you, even when parts of you are screaming to retreat to familiar territory.

Phase 2: You Release to Make Room

Sometimes the best thing about a place is how far it feels from who you used to be. Maybe it’s a business conference in another city, an afternoon soaking at a hot springs, or a planned retreat. When we’re surrounded by something different from our day-to-day routine, it creates space for release.

And release may mean:

• Letting go of outdated beliefs about yourself

• Releasing relationships that no longer align

• Clearing physical and mental clutter

• Forgiving past versions of yourself

The places that support this kind of release may also require some level of disconnecting:

• Putting your phone in airplane mode

• Saying no to social obligations

• Sitting with uncomfortable silence

• Actually letting yourself be bored

The Dance of Disconnecting and Reconnecting

Before we leave this second phase, let’s think through the ways we disconnect AND reconnect. Two separate states that mirror each other in so many ways.

The Ice Bath in Latvia. Not original, I know. But there’s something about voluntary discomfort that recalibrates your relationship with what you can handle. I went in thinking I was proving something to the group of people I was there to impress. I came out realizing I was proving something to myself.

Now and then, I remind myself of this lesson with cold bursts in the shower. It helps me remember that release moment. Discomfort isn’t always bad, and I need to trust myself to handle whatever comes next.

Phase 3: You Explore and Discover

A place can become the perfect lab for exploring both your outer and inner worlds. Maybe it’s a physical challenge you didn’t think you could handle that suddenly gives you the courage to face other transformations in your life. With that mental space created, you start exploring who you’re becoming:

• Trying experiences that would have terrified the old you

• Visiting places that stretch your comfort zone

• Experimenting with new ways of being

• Allowing yourself to be a complete beginner again

This exploration phase is why so many people get hooked on travel. It’s not just about seeing new places, but discovering new versions of yourself. When you’re somewhere unfamiliar, you can try on different personalities, test new boundaries, and see what feels authentic.

A Camping Trip in the Middle of Nowhere. Three days with the closest cell service miles away seemed divine. Then my husband fell and dislocated his shoulder at the same time our truck’s transmission gave out.

Suddenly, our romantic getaway became a crash course in what really matters. Stripped of all the conveniences I’d grown dependent on, I realized how much I’d been taking for granted. And it wasn’t just modern luxuries, but my husband’s steady presence in my life.

Now I know you’re saying, “Wait, Natalie, you said this was about the change we seek out.” Good point. But while the crisis wasn’t of my choosing, it woke me up. I had to step into a version of myself that was more resourceful, more present, more grateful. It taught me to find my balance of gratitude for others and doing for myself.

Sometimes renewal finds you even when you’re not looking for it. The key is recognizing the lesson when it arrives and choosing to let it change you rather than just surviving it.

Phase 4: You Integrate Into Your Life

The last part of renewal, often prompted or boosted by a new place, is the inevitable letdown of returning to previous routines. While you were at that Italian villa, everything seemed so clear, and the road to change felt vibrant and rich. But now you’re back home, and that transformed version of yourself feels like it might have been a mirage.

This is where integration becomes crucial. If renewal is stirring in your spirit, the sustainability of this “new you” depends on how well you can weave your insights into everyday life:

• Establishing new patterns and routines that honor what you discovered about yourself

• Setting boundaries that protect your growth from people and situations that want to pull you back into old patterns

• Making choices that align with your renewed self, even when they’re inconvenient or misunderstood

• Sharing your transformation with others, not to convince them but to anchor the changes in your own reality

Integration is about becoming the bridge between who you were in that transformative place and who you can be in your regular life.

Without integration, renewal becomes just another vacation story. With it, it becomes the foundation for lasting change.

My Father’s House After He Died. Not exactly a travel destination, but renewal doesn’t always happen in exotic locations. Going through his things, sitting in his kitchen, I reconnected with parts of my family story I’d forgotten. Sometimes renewal is about claiming your roots, not escaping them.

I remembered who I was before I learned to be who I thought I should be.

Since then, I have reached out and welcomed deeper connections with my family. I keep working to maintain those bonds. The renewal happened in recognizing which parts of my heritage and family identity I wanted to carry forward and which patterns I was ready to release. My dad’s house gave me that insight. Now, it’s the daily choices to stay connected that hold the real transformation.

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Creating Your Renewal Practice

So with you in the driver seat of renewal firmly established, I now challenge you to seek transformation and fresh starts. Renewal Seekers strive for clarity, have the courage to face fears, and take on challenges. They know that evolution is a healthy part of the human process.

Want more of this in your life? Try out these:

Create Small Disruptions

Renewal requires disrupting your normal patterns. This doesn’t mean you need to quit your job and move to Bali (though if that’s calling you, listen). It means intentionally creating breaks in your routine:

• Take a different route to work

• Eat dinner for breakfast

• Have a conversation with a stranger

Practice Intentional Discomfort

Growth happens at the edge of your comfort zone. Renewal seekers understand this and actively seek experiences that stretch them:

• Physical challenges that test your limits

• Emotional situations that require vulnerability

• Mental puzzles that force new thinking

Embrace a Beginner’s Mind

Renewal requires approaching life with fresh eyes. This means:

• Admitting what you don’t know

• Learning from people you might normally dismiss

• Seeing familiar places as if for the first time

The Courage to Let Places Change You

The real courage of renewal isn’t only in choosing challenging destinations. It’s also in remaining vulnerable to change wherever you are. In fact, it may be easier to visit a transformative place and still leave unchanged than to allow an ordinary place to shift something inside you.

Renewal seekers understand that the goal isn’t to collect experiences. It’s to collect versions of yourself—each one a little clearer, a little braver, a little more authentic than the last.

Dear Renewal Seeker,

Something in you knows it’s time. Maybe you can’t name what needs to change, but you feel that restless energy, that sense that you’ve outgrown your current container.

Thank you for teaching us that renewal doesn’t require a dramatic gesture. It doesn’t need anyone else’s permission. It requires something much simpler and much more difficult: the willingness to show up differently than you have before.

You help us see that the place matters less than our openness to being changed by it.

Continue to trust your instincts about where you need to go. And keep finding different versions of yourself, collecting the courage to become who you’re meant to be next.

The world needs your renewed self. We’re all waiting to meet who you become.

With deep respect,

Natalie

P.S. Whatever place is calling to you right now, even if it seems impossible or impractical, write it down. Sometimes the first step toward renewal is simply acknowledging where you want to go. Feel free to share it below!

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Renewal Seeker Planner & Journal

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Plan for lasting change with your own renewal experiences.

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Life today moves with the frenzied pace of a jazz drummer who’s had one too many Red Bulls and is trying to keep up with a techno remix. (Whoa. Hold up. I have to take a breath.)

Between the endless notifications, the perpetual hustle culture, and that voice in your head that sounds suspiciously like a hyped-up life coach screaming “OPTIMIZE EVERYTHING,” finding peace can feel like trying to do yoga in a bounce house.

While developing this stamp, I found myself reflecting on the various forms of peace and how we can uncover them in places, familiar and foreign. Peace can be both fleeting and profound, but above all, it is something that must be protected.

With its many manifestations, it was challenging to find a focus for this stamp and, subsequently, this post. So I’ll touch on some places and ways that work for me. Don’t fret, I’ve made peace with the ones I had to let float by.

Being a Peace Finder

I could have gone with calling this stamp “peace stumble-uponer” because some of our most impactful peaceful moments sneak up on us like plot twists in a good werewolf cozy mystery. But there’s something beautifully intentional about being a Peace Finder. It suggests we’re not just passive recipients of calm moments, but active seekers, detectives of our own serenity.

If this stamp fits you, you likely discover beauty in stillness and simplicity. You have this incredible gift for finding tranquil spaces that others might overlook—that perfect park bench, the library corner, or that hiking trail that everyone else rushes past. All places that you know hold the promise of calm.

You trust that the right place matters more than forcing yourself through difficult experiences. While others are white-knuckling their way through challenging adventures, you’re the one finding places that encourage reflection and presence.

While peacemakers make natural Peace Finders, what I love about this stamp is that it shows peace is not some mystical state reserved for monks on mountaintops or people who somehow have their lives together enough to wake up at 5 AM for meditation (bless their organized souls). Peace is plucky, adaptable, and surprisingly resourceful. It can show up in the most unexpected places, like that friend who crashes on your couch uninvited but somehow makes you feel better.

The Peace Finder stamp is part of the Growth & Transformation pillar. For more information about the framework, see THIS POST.

Not sure if you are a Peace Finder? Find YOUR Places Stamp HERE.

Want more Peace Finder basics? See HERE.

Download the Peace Finder Planner & Journal at the bottom of the post.

If you’re reading this and nodding along, chances are you’re a Peace Finder. You’re the person who gravitates toward quiet, peaceful places while others are chasing the next adrenaline rush. You seek out serenity! Quiet beaches, serene mountains, and peaceful retreats call to you like a gentle invitation.

You want to escape the noise of modern life and find inner calm. While others crave excitement and action, you seek out the quiet moments and spots where you can actually hear yourself think. Your ideal place leaves you feeling centered and serene, not drained and overstimulated.

You’re drawn to calm spaces where you can just be.

Your Peaceful Side Deserves Its Place in YOUR Places

Peace isn’t just one thing. It’s gazing out at the ocean AND that perfectly timed text from a friend. It’s cathedral silence AND the chaotic laughter of a family dinner. It’s the earned exhaustion after a challenging hike AND the soft surrender of sinking into clean sheets.

Let’s explore ways to choose activities that promote inner peace without apologizing for it. How can we all get better at picking places that slow us down—not because we’re boring (please!), but because we understand that the best discoveries happen when we stop rushing. These are the places where you recharge, where your nervous system finally gets to exhale and remember what it feels like to not be constantly scanning for threats or opportunities.

As a therapist, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the importance of being trauma-informed—especially about yourself. I’m grateful to see more places, events, movies, and novels sharing content warnings. In this, we have the chance to protect our peace.

Holding onto and protecting our peace is just as important as finding it.

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Peace Comes in Many Flavors

Here are four ways that peace has woven its way into my life, and perhaps yours, too.

Sensory Peace

Picture this: You’re in a lavender field somewhere in Provence (or that charming lavender farm an hour outside of town, equally magical). The purple rows stretch endlessly, the air is thick with that distinctive scent that makes your shoulders drop two inches, and for a moment, the world stops its relentless spinning.

Now fast-forward to three months later. You’re in an airplane that feels like a sardine can, complete with a crying baby and the person behind you who seems to think your seat is a punching bag. But then, you dab that little vial of lavender oil on your wrists, close your eyes, and suddenly you’re back in those purple rows. Your nervous system doesn’t care that you’re 30,000 feet above land; it remembers peace.

This is the magic of sensory peace-finding. Our bodies are walking archives of calm moments, and sometimes we just need to know which buttons to push. Essential oils are like the greatest hits album of peaceful experiences—magnolia for that garden party where you laughed until your cheeks hurt, eucalyptus for that spa day when you finally let yourself have nice things, peppermint for that mountain hike where you felt invincible.

Sure, there are scents marketed to evoke calm feelings, but I find some have a triggering effect that can send me into a tailspin. Anything rose-scented and I’m NOT in a calm place, instead back in a childhood experience I haven’t fully processed.

But I digress.

My point is that knowing the smells, sounds, textures—any sense really—that trigger you and can be avoided are just as powerful as those we intentionally bring into our lives.

Earned Peace

Some people find their deepest calm through physical or mental exertion. These are the marathon runners who discover zen at mile 20, the rock climbers who find their center on a cliff face, and the yoga gals who flow through multiple sun salutations before melting into child’s pose. For them, peace feels more meaningful when it follows effort.

I used to prescribe to this approach completely. There’s a satisfying symmetry to working your body or mind hard and then experiencing the calm that follows. Perhaps this is age talking, but I’ve cut back on earning peace through the struggle of heightened experiences. Sometimes my most radical act is choosing ease when everything around me suggests I should be pushing harder.

So I offer to you, and as a reminder to myself: peace doesn’t require a prerequisite of suffering. It can be accessed directly through whatever brings you genuine joy, regardless of your energy level.

Now, don’t get me wrong, a calm soul doesn’t necessarily mean lowered blood pressure or complete stillness. Your peace might be found when dancing in the kitchen, in meaningful conversation, or organizing your closet. The key is honoring what actually restores you, whether that’s challenge followed by rest or simply choosing the path of least resistance when life already feels overwhelming.

Both paths are completely valid. The goal isn’t to force yourself into someone else’s definition of peace, but to discover what truly works for your unique nervous system and life circumstances. Peace is personal.

Collective Peace

Then there’s the peace that comes not from solitude, but from togetherness. You know this one. It’s that moment when you look around a holiday table and realize, miraculously, everyone you love is in one place. This collective exhale, this shared “we made it” feeling, is its own kind of peace. You show up for these moments with your whole heart. I’m still brimming with this peaceful recharge after a wonderful week with my family in the San Juan Islands.

Consider planning get-togethers in places that evoke togetherness as a way to ease worries and rekindle your knowing that you are not alone in this world. It’s a powerful form of peace.

Healing Peace

Some peace comes with the specific intention to heal. These are places that encourage reflection and presence, spaces that seem to understand that sometimes we need to be held while we process, grieve, celebrate, or simply be without having to explain.

Think about the last time you visited a place that moved you to tears—not from sadness, but from recognition, from feeling deeply seen. Maybe it was a memorial that honored loss with dignity, an art exhibit that captured something you couldn’t put into words, or even a dark movie theatre where you wiped away satisfying tears.

While this may seem unconventional, I find some of the most emotionally evocative museums, exhibits, and stories offer this kind of healing peace. This curiosity sent me into research about the ethics and training around trauma-informed museum practices. Museum educator Lindsey Steward-Goldberg notes that museums have a responsibility to approach visitors “with compassion, mindfulness, and skilled responses,” creating safe spaces to explore difficult topics while honoring both the visitor’s experience and the subject matter being presented.

I sure appreciate knowing this. It can be a way for us to discover that healing and peace can coexist. We learn that we don’t have to compartmentalize our experiences or wait until we’re “better” to feel peace.

This week, consider seeking out a place specifically designed for reflection. Pay attention to what elements make you feel safe to experience whatever emotions arise. Peace isn’t just about feeling better; sometimes it’s about feeling everything, safely held.

Sacred Spaces and Unexpected Sanctuaries

I hope these four “peace places” demonstrate that peace has interesting real estate preferences. Sometimes it lives in obvious places: cathedrals with their soaring ceilings, or those mountain vista points. But peace is also surprisingly democratic. It sets up shop in unexpected places: that grocery store produce section surrounded by perfectly arranged vegetables, a laundromat watching clothes tumble with a meditative hum, the parking garage rooftop looking out over the city.

Expand your Peace Finder ways by recognizing these places. Sanctuary can be found almost anywhere.

Your Peace Practice

Being a Peace Finder is a skill that gets better with practice. The more you pay attention to what actually calms your nervous system, the better you become at curating your own peace portfolio.

Maybe your peace is found in:

• The weight of a cat on your lap (universal peace technology)

• The rhythm of your feet on a familiar trail

• The specific slant of afternoon light in your favorite reading spot

• The sound of rain on your roof while you’re safely inside

• The moment when you finally understand something you’ve been reflecting on

• The familiar ritual of making your morning coffee exactly the way you like it

• The satisfaction of finding the perfect park bench with the perfect view

The key is noticing these moments, collecting them like rare treasures, and learning to recognize the conditions that create them.

So here’s my challenge to you, fellow Peace Finder: Think outside the box about how and where you find peace.

Maybe it’s not in the obvious places. Maybe your cathedral is a late-night diner where the coffee is terrible but the solitude is perfect. Maybe your meditation practice happens while folding laundry or walking the dog or sitting in your car for five extra minutes before going into a social event.

Protect your peace. Hold tight to those boundaries you set to preserve your calm.

Recognize that it can be fleeting. Those perfect moments that you may not control but can learn to notice.

Appreciate that it can be profound. Those experiences that fundamentally shift how you see the world.

Remember: you’re driven by sanctuary, harmony, and healing. These are necessities. In a world that profits from your anxiety, choose peace. Every time you pause, breathe, and remember what centers you, you’re not just finding peace, you’re creating it, modeling it, making it available for others to discover too.

The world needs more Peace Finders. The world needs more people who understand that serenity isn’t selfish. It’s a service.

Now go forth and find your sanctuary. The quiet places are waiting for you!

Dear Peace Finders,

Thank you for bringing peace to others. When you’ve done the work of understanding what centers you, you start showing up differently in the world. You become the friend who can sit with someone’s hurt without trying to fix it, the colleague who doesn’t add to the office chaos, the family member who brings calm instead of drama to gatherings.

Thank you for being our human tuning forks. Continue to help us calibrate to your emotional frequency. You remind us that there’s another way to move through the world, one that doesn’t require constant urgency and stress as fuel. You understand that sometimes the best moments happen when you slow down enough to feel them. You understand that the right environment can be medicine, that certain places have the power to recalibrate our entire being.

While others are trying to cram as much experience as possible into their time off, you’re choosing quality over quantity, depth over breadth. You’re proving that it’s possible to be productive by being still, to be adventurous by being present, to be fulfilled by being peaceful.

With peaceful intentions and a grateful heart,

Natalie

P.S. - If you discover peace in an unexpected place this week, I’d love to hear about it. Because the best peace-finding tips are the ones we share with each other.

Peace Finder Planner & Journal 2025

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Discover your slow moments and sacred spaces.

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Hi Club,

Sometimes I forget there’s a difference between knowledge and wisdom. It’s the difference of harnessing my need to know random facts after realizing I’ve spent three hours researching the psychology of jet lag’s effect on creativity when I originally just wanted to know what time zone I’d be landing in.

My curiosity gets the best of me, and I’ve tumbled down so many rabbit holes that I’ve forgotten what I was looking up in the first place. It’s probably why I haven’t fully invested in figuring out my relationship with AI. Yes, I know we’re all figuring it out, but I’ve been dragging my feet, disguised as “research” and “learning,” not doing, trying, and trying again.

This hit me like a ton of academic journals when I was designing the Wisdom Hunter stamp. Because there’s a massive difference between being a knowledge collector and being a Wisdom Hunter.

The Wisdom Hunter stamp is part of the Knowledge & Experience pillar. For more information about the framework, see THIS POST.

Not sure if you are a Wisdom Hunter? Find YOUR Places Stamp HERE.

Want more Wisdom Hunter basics? See HERE.

Download the Wisdom Hunter Planner & Journal at the bottom of the post!

You Might Be a Wisdom Hunter

Sure, like me, you collect knowledge and ideas. But not just any knowledge. You’re drawn to places that help you think differently: a conversation with a local expert, an exhibit that explains one of your interests, or learning from a tour guide. These moments are why you seek out places and experiences.

You understand that the best parts of a place are the new ideas, perspectives, and understanding you gain. Whether you’re exploring an old fort or a cutting-edge science center, you know that every place has lessons to teach.

You have a gift for finding the educational value in every experience. Your favorite places feed your curiosity and expand your understanding of the world.

But here’s where Wisdom Hunters level up from knowledge collectors:

The Psychology Behind the Hunt

Research shows that people with a growth mindset (those who believe abilities can be developed) are more likely to seek out challenging experiences and learn from failure. Wisdom hunters embody this perfectly. You understand that intelligence isn’t fixed, that struggle indicates growth, and that the best learning happens at the edge of your comfort zone.

Wisdom hunters also get that truth can be relative. In sessions with clients, I often share that there are actually six truths in any conversation (what you want to convey, what you think you conveyed, what was heard, then multiply by two for the other person). The same can be true of experiences. You’re not just collecting facts about a place, you’re understanding the deeper stories, the multiple perspectives, and the human truths that a place can impart.

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The Professional Student Syndrome

If I could, I’d be a professional student. My husband jokes that I’d still be “in school” if it paid a livable wage. College football season gives me that same vibe: the excitement of shared purpose, grand buildings, and age-old institutions.

But I’m not partial to just book learning. Having helped Career and Tech Ed students, I know work-based learning, internships, apprenticeships, and certifications take total effort and commitment. Wisdom can come from getting your hands dirty and advancing into professions that don’t yet exist.

I’m about to share some places that have stretched my perspective, sharpened my discernment, and helped me make peace with not knowing everything. Tell me if you’ve been to any of these game-changers, or if they’re now calling your name.

Traditional Learning Temples

Trinity College, Dublin
The Book of Kells and Long Room Library: basically heaven’s reading room. Walking through those towering shelves is like stepping into a cathedral of human knowledge. It felt more like a pilgrimage moment than a tour. I just stood there, soaking up the magnitude of the scale of knowledge that exists. It’s amazing to think that some questions have been asked for centuries, and it hit me how some human achievements transcend their original time and purpose.

Trade Training Centers
These places hum with learning energy, just as powerful as any ivory tower. Here, wisdom comes from understanding that every light switch, HVAC system, plumbing line, structural beam, and power grid depends on someone who has learned not just theory but the reality of their craft through hands-on experience.

I loved watching a student who slept through English class come alive when learning to wire a circuit breaker. The trades taught me that wisdom comes when interest meets initiative. I won’t go into the full spectrum of the trades, but just to say, don’t be a knowledge snob, thinking professional learning is book learning. There’s profound satisfaction in creating something tangible, in solving problems with your hands, in going home knowing exactly what you accomplished that day.

BTW, support your local trade unions! And if you get a chance to mentor or support trade education, do it. These students are learning skills that society can’t survive without.

Places Where Learning and Exploring Collide

I have an affinity for tough jobs that I’d never actually do. Here are three callings that fascinate me, and when I got a chance to go live in their shoes for a day, I took it.

Water Jobs
Water on its own: fascinating. Throw in water-based professions and I’m caught in the undertow of admiration. Here’s a couple I got caught up in from US shorelines.

Pacific: Watching Bar Pilots rendezvous with massive container ships in Astoria, OR had me absolutely captivated. When I happened upon their training day, I became so transfixed that not even a kraken surfacing could have torn my gaze away. These experts navigate some of the world’s most tricky waterways, reading currents and taking risks that are truly impressive.

Atlantic: Peeking in on ship simulators while at the Maritime Conference Center in Maryland was like entering another dimension. Watching training on vessels of every size had me so absorbed that I left half-convinced that I was a tugboat captain in a previous life.

Don’t get me started on the mystery that is a lock system: Scotland’s Caledonian Canal and Fort Myers, Florida’s Franklin Lock, each with locks so majestic and functional they feel like watching giants perform ballet. Water doesn’t care about your schedule, but if you understand its rules, it’ll lift your boat 20 feet like it’s nothing.

Military Academies
I haven’t hit them all yet, but the Air Force and Naval academies are sure impressive. The precision, tradition, and understanding that knowledge literally means life or death put things in perspective. Graduation ceremonies full of ritual and accomplishment are something to behold, like the hat toss and fly-overs at the Air Force Academy. These aren’t just celebrations; they’re declarations that these young people are ready to carry responsibilities most of us can’t imagine.

Space Camp
In Huntsville, AL, we lucked out staying at the on-site RV park and I had a front row seat to some spectacular failures. I cheered for rockets that barely cleared the launch pad, others that went sideways, a few that just sat there making sad fizzing sounds. But nobody gave up and everyone’s attempt was supported. Afterward, they’d huddle around the wreckage like tiny rocket scientists, analyzing what went wrong. Their enthusiasm was infectious enough to make this middle-aged therapist seriously consider applying to NASA.

More Mind Expanders (Where Wisdom Wears Hair Nets)

Factory Tours That Changed My Perspective

Learning what goes into some of my favorite edible products put a new spin on my appreciation. These places taught me that wisdom often comes disguised as repetition, precision, and a caring attention to detail.

Food Production:

• Tillamook Cheese: Watching curds become aged cheddar taught patience and process.

• Date Farms: I’ll never take another date for granted after seeing what goes into every single one to reach an edible state.

Beverage Education:

• Guinness Storehouse: That cascade effect isn’t marketing, it’s science.

• Celestial Seasonings: The peppermint room clears your sinuses and perspective.

Chocolate/Candy Operations:
There are too many to name, but I could watch a taffy puller all day. Something meditative about watching chaos become order, sugar become art. Hershey’s with kisses on lampposts. Pure joy.

Retirement Village Learning

Wisdom doesn’t retire. I’ve learned so much about the hobbies and pastimes of a well-rounded life from the 55+ communities we’ve stayed at on our travels. They’ve mastered every card game possible, and regional favorites are always lessons in local culture. They know learning doesn’t stop. Any age is never too late. These folks don’t mess around, a few of my favorite teachers:

• Stained Glass Artists: Turning broken pieces into beauty

• Quilters: Creating warmth from scraps and squares

• Woodworkers: Shaping something lasting from something living

• Dance Class Instructors: Clogging, line dancing, Zumba, really every form of movement as joy and I’m there.

• Water Cycling Crews: Because you should be allowed to bike anywhere.

Where Animals Teach Us

Animal Sanctuaries:

I love a sanctuary that protects and cares for the tired and injured, ultimately releasing them back to their lives. These places where humans lend a hand to our animal brethren tug at my heart and teach me so much about what it means to be a steward of this world. I’ll spare you the details of every stop, just give you a few and some catchy phrases to spark your curiosity.

• Birds of Prey Centers: Rehabilitation teaches resilience

• Wolf Sanctuaries: Pack dynamics; the ultimate in etiquette and hierarchy

• Wild Horse Encounters: Freedom and conservation complexity

• Manatee Winter Havens: Renewable energy meets preservation

• Butterfly Sanctuaries: Transformation made visible

My Wisdom To-Do’s (Have You Been?)

We’ve come to the part where I share my list of to-dos and would so love your thoughts, insights and tips. Yes, this is the interactive part!

Behind-the-Scenes Access: I want to see the BIG operations! (Which means I may be a bit lofty here.)

• Broadway Productions

• Music Festivals

• Movie Lots

• News Control Rooms

• Professional Sports Draft Rooms

Innovation Frontlines: They look impressive online, but I’m ready for IRL.

• Googleplex tour

• Apple Park Visitor Center

• Microsoft campus experience

• Robot competitions (they’re aiming for humanoids to beat FIFA champions by 2050)

The Wisdom Hunter’s Contribution

Dear Wisdom Hunters,

Your drive to expand and learn inspires us all to reach for our greatest potential. You help bridge the unknown, knowing that wisdom comes from facing fear, being okay with faltering, and pushing through challenges.

You understand personal growth comes in increments worth the patience to keep going, even when it’s tough. You know innovation’s power and what it takes to be on the cusp of something new.

Knowledge is beautiful, necessary and fascinating. But you know wisdom happens when you take that knowledge and do something with it. You have stopped researching how to live and have started actually living.

So yes, fall down those research rabbit holes (they’re fun!), but remember to climb back out and apply what you’ve learned. Continue to push us to visit places that make us uncomfortable, ask questions that might make us look silly, and remember that the best education often happens when you’re not even trying to learn.

Please keep pushing us to get uncomfortable to get wise. The world needs more people who don’t just collect information but transform it into insight, action, and maybe even a little magic.

Keep hunting,
Natalie

P.S. - If you know of any amazing behind-the-scenes tours, factory visits, or unique learning experiences, send them my way. This wisdom hunter is always ready for the next adventure.

Want to expand your Wisdom Hunting abilities? Please download the Planner & Journal below.

Wisdom Hunter Planner & Journal

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Build on your Wisdom Hunter ways!

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Hey club,

I recently got to sit down with Jamie Ward to talk about her incredibly busy travel life and how she connects with the places she visits. One of the most beautiful connections she's shared is her deep love for her home in Indiana.

With fall rolling in, Indiana's beauty is something you don't want to miss. Plus, being in the middle of the country makes it perfect for bringing together family, whether they're traveling from the East or West Coast.

Jamie's discovered some really cool spots across the state (check out her guides HERE), and she shares some of her favorites during our chat.

We also dive into something I found pretty fascinating—nostalgia in travel, especially when you're exploring with people you love. There's something special about sharing those moments and leaving your own little mark on a place.

I think you'll really enjoy our conversation, especially if you're planning any fall getaways. You can discover more about Jamie and her travel insights at:

Cornfields & High Heels

Wander Write

Have you ever experienced that nostalgic pull when revisiting a place with loved ones? Or maybe you've got your own hidden gem in Indiana to share? Drop a comment below—I'd love to hear about the places that have left their mark on you!

Natalie

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My mom has always been my artist sage. Her eye for design and need to create has shown up in so many mediums and forms over the years that I've lost count of the beauty she's brought into our lives.

Growing up, she made our clothes, crocheted her way through endless creations, and always had a project humming on her sewing machine. She made us dolls, but didn't stop there, no way. We got entire wardrobes, complete with accessories. Then came the dollhouses that felt like tiny worlds we could disappear into with miniature dishes and furniture.

She has always been a creator, and she still is. Her delicate watercolor paintings of trees and the sea adorn my writing space. A felt angel she made serves as a guardian in our RV and is so precious that people often stop mid-conversation to whisper, "Wait, she made that?"

Looking back, I realize I grew up thinking everyone's mom just casually created magic with their hands. What I've learned from her wasn't necessarily her technical skills. I didn't inherit her steady hand with a paintbrush or her intuitive understanding of color theory. What I absorbed was something far more valuable: her unwavering belief that beauty matters, that creating feeds your soul, and that the world becomes a better place when we pay attention to how things look, feel, and flow together.

The Beauty Voyager stamp is part of the Knowledge & Experience pillar. For more information about the framework, see THIS POST.

Not sure if you are a Beauty Voyager? Find YOUR Places Stamp HERE.

Want more Beauty Voyager basics? See HERE.

Download the Beauty Voyager Planner & Journal at the bottom of the post to build out your inspiration plan.

Let’s Get the Science Out of the Way

The psychology behind the boost we get from beauty and creating. When we encounter something beautiful, our brains release dopamine and endorphins.

Here's what happens in your brain:

• It's the same neurochemical reward system that reinforces behaviors essential for survival

• This tells us something profound: our need for beauty isn't frivolous—it's fundamental to who we are as humans

• Studies show exposure to beauty reduces cortisol levels, lowers blood pressure, and boosts immune function; an anxiety and stress antidote

• When we create, the benefits multiply exponentially

The act of creation engages multiple brain areas simultaneously, creating new neural pathways and releasing a "flow state" cocktail of chemicals—a combination of norepinephrine, dopamine, anandamide, and endorphins that makes us feel focused, euphoric, and deeply satisfied.

From an evolutionary perspective, our attraction to beauty likely served important survival functions. Those who could recognize and create beautiful, harmonious environments, or move with intrinsic rhythm, were more likely to thrive and attract mates.

And here's the beautiful part: You don't need to be Picasso to access this natural high. You just need to create.

Who You Are: Beauty Voyagers

You are the ones who are ready to be dazzled, and you're not particular about whether that beauty comes from nature or humans. The way you appreciate beauty and use it as creative inspiration is truly a gift—whether you're arranging flowers, capturing moments in pictures, moving with a dancer’s grace or creating art that makes others stop and stare.

You are inclined to:

• Mindfulness about what you observe

• Seeing beauty in places others miss entirely

• Noticing the stubborn flower growing through a sidewalk crack

• Appreciating intricate designs on wrought iron gates

• Observing how light moves across buildings at exactly 5:17 PM

You understand that beauty isn't always grand or obvious.

This mindfulness is so important in our distracted world. While others rush past with eyes glued to screens, you're collecting moments of wonder. You understand these moments aren't just pleasant experiences—they're fuel for whatever you create next.

Why Beauty Voyagers Are Essential to Humanity

In a world that often feels chaotic and divided, beauty voyagers serve as essential guardians of wonder. You don't just seek beautiful experiences for yourselves—you create beauty for others too.

You're the ones who:

• Bring flowers to dinner parties

• Think about lighting and fragrances when inviting people over

• Choose words carefully because you understand that language can be beautiful

• Stop to photograph interesting shadows

• Rearrange living spaces like curating gallery exhibitions

• See potential in thrift store finds

You understand that beauty isn't a luxury—it's fuel for growth, for connection, for hope. People who prioritize beauty are quietly revolutionary. You're insisting there's still wonder to be found, still reasons to pay attention, still magic in ordinary moments. In doing so, you preserve something essential about what it means to be human.

Don't See Yourself as Creative?

Here's a reminder to us all: creativity isn't a special talent reserved the few, it's a human birthright, and every single one of us has access to it.

You're already creating when you:

• Arrange your office space to be more functional and pleasant (that's design thinking)

• Rig up an ingenious system for peas to climb in your garden (creative problem-solving)

• Fold napkins into swans for a dinner party

• Organize your bookshelf by color and book height

• Create the perfect playlist for your morning run

Art and beauty show up in forms we sometimes don't recognize:

• How we style our hair

• What we choose to wear

• Our tattoos and piercings

• Personal style developed over years of paying attention to what makes you feel confident and authentic

These are all visual and creative skills building on the same foundation: understanding design principles, developing your eye for what works, and learning to trust your own instincts.

Still not convinced?

Engineers are artists working with physics and mathematics. Architects are sculptors on a massive scale. Teachers are performance artists making calculus suddenly fascinating. Parents are daily creators, building humans and traditions out of pure love and grit.

To my fellow writers crafting worlds with nothing but words: you're painting landscapes and sculpting characters every time you tap the keyboard.

The professional beauty makers—photographers, interior designers, hairstylists, chefs, landscape artists—they're inspiring with awesome day jobs.

Your gentle creative challenge: Notice how you problem-solve. Creativity and problem-solving are in the same family. When you figure out how to fit everything in your car for a road trip, find new routes to avoid traffic, or repurpose a coffee mug as a planter—that's creative thinking in action.

Find Your Inspiration: Beauty Voyager's Local Adventure Guide

You don't need to travel thousands of miles to be a beauty voyager. Here are ways to flex your beauty eye around town:

Golden Hour Walks

Take the same route at different times of day. Notice how 6 AM light transforms an ordinary street corner, or how 7 PM shadows create patterns you've never seen before.

Architecture Appreciation

Look up. Most people never notice details above eye level—cornices, window treatments, rooflines that tell stories about when buildings were constructed and who designed them.

Seasonal Documentation

Photograph the same tree, building, or street scene across all four seasons. You'll develop an intimate understanding of how light, weather, and time create endless variations on familiar objects.

Local Artist Hunting

Visit coffee shops, community centers, and small businesses displaying local artwork. Often, the most authentic creative expressions happen in everyday spaces rather than formal galleries.

Market Wandering

Farmers markets, flea markets, and craft fairs are treasure troves of handmade beauty. Notice the care someone put into arranging their produce display or stories told by well-worn vintage finds.

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Global Beauty Voyaging: Places That Transform You

That feeling of being truly captivated is one of the most powerful human experiences. To take something in and know you're witnessing something special makes life extraordinary and feels wondrous.

Some of My Man-Made U.S. Favorites:

• Metropolitan Museum of Art - I can completely get lost there, surrounded by centuries of human creativity from all over.
• Smithsonian Museums - I love the Natural History Museum, with the Air and Space Museum a close second.
• Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin, Phoenix - Walking through was amazing to see how true beauty can happen when we work with nature, not impose ourselves on it.
• Thomas Dambo Trolls - Colorado and Kentucky (so far, but SO many to go worldwide!) Coming up on those giant wooden sculptures makes me giddy with delight every time.

Some of My Nature-Made Favorites Around the World:

• Southern Cross - My first night in Australia, I kept checking the sky like I was refreshing my email. And the stars delivered. bada..bump
• Cliffs of Moher, Ireland - Nature creates art no human hand could improve upon. I still pull up the phone app for instant serenity. I swear I feel the breeze, hear the birds when I look at the panoramic pictures. Consider checking it out.
• Lake Louise, Alberta - Really, any of the glacier lakes of the Canadian Rockies. Where pristine water, like turquoise food coloring was dumped in, meets the grand elegance of dramatic peaks.
• Garden of the Gods, Colorado - Living there meant I could visit whenever I needed a recharge, and I definitely abused that privilege. Those red sandstone formations against the snow-capped Pikes Peak backdrop never got old.
• Dunn's River Falls & Blue Hole, Jamaica - There's something primal about waterfalls—the sound, the mist, the raw power of water carving through rock. I love all waterfalls, even tiny, roadside ones. (Victoria Falls and Wells Gray Park, I'm coming for you!)

Your Beauty Voyager Journey Starts Now

Whether you're already someone who sees and creates beauty regularly, or someone just beginning to notice creative impulses you've been ignoring, your perspective matters.

Your perspective on the world is unique, and so are the things you create. Whether they are paintings, gardens, stories, songs, or simply what you choose to display on your walls, you contribute something to this world that wouldn't exist without you.

Start small if you need to:

• Notice one beautiful thing today you might have missed yesterday

• Rearrange something in your space

• Try a new way of doing something ordinary

• Take a photo of something that catches your eye

• Write down a description of something you find beautiful

The world needs more Beauty Voyagers: people who believe art matters, that creativity is essential, and that paying attention to beauty is a form of wisdom.

The Ripple Effect of Your Beauty Experiences

Here's what I've discovered about people who prioritize beauty: they create ripple effects extending far beyond their own experience. When you choose to make something beautiful, like setting a lovely table, tending a garden, or simply taking care in how you present yourself to the world, you give others permission to do the same.

You become living proof that beauty isn't selfish or superficial, but generous and essential. You demonstrate that paying attention to aesthetics is a form of self-care, care for others, and care for the world we all share.

In a time when it's easy to become overwhelmed by ugliness, beauty voyagers serve as beacons of hope. You remind the rest of us that wonder still exists, that there are still reasons to pay attention, that sharing appreciation and compliments are valued, that creating and seeking beauty is both a privilege and a responsibility.

Dear Beauty Voyagers,

Thank you for showing us the wonders of being alive. You choose to be surrounded by creativity and care. You seek out places where someone thought deeply about how things look, feel, and flow together—spaces that someone clearly loves. And you're drawn to majestic and awe-inspiring places that spark your imagination and joy in creating.

You don't just visit beautiful places; you let them move you. Each destination, each moment of beauty witnessed or created, adds another layer to your perspective. You collect these experiences like treasures, understanding that beauty isn't a luxury—it's fuel for growth, for connection, for the kind of hope that keeps us moving forward.

You remind the rest of us that paying attention to aesthetics is wisdom. And that seeking beauty isn't superficial, it's essential. You create something lovely, however small, as an act of faith in tomorrow.

Keep searching, keep creating, keep believing that beauty matters. The world needs your unwavering commitment to finding light in both the grand and the everyday.

With love and admiration,
Natalie

Beauty Voyager Planner & Journal

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What will be your next inspiration? Hopefully, this helps you find it.

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P.S. I'd love to hear about the places and moments that have captivated you. What's something beautiful you've witnessed recently that stopped you in your tracks? Please share it in the comments.

Hello Places Posse,

There was a time I wanted to be an anthropologist. In college, I thought Margaret Mead was a badass (controversial, sure), but what a trailblazer. And I had the classiest prof for my intro course. She wore a different scarf every day—silk ones from India, woven ones from Guatemala, delicate lace from Ireland. She'd flutter into class with it draped around her shoulders, unwrapping it with flair as she launched into that day's lesson, as if she had just landed her prop plane out front like Amelia Earhart returning from some exotic expedition.

The woman made fieldwork sound like the most romantic adventure possible. The cool chicks were exploring remote corners of the world, coming back with stories of lost tribes, ancient rituals, and ways of being human that were so beautifully far from anything I knew in my little bubble. I was ready to become one of them.

Turns out, life had other plans. But thankfully, I stumbled into social work, anthropology's scrappy cousin. Same love for studying human behavior and cultural patterns, but with a more immediate impact on lives. Plus, it became my passport to the world. Instead of studying remote tribes, I found myself working with displaced communities and marginalized groups whose cultures were just as complex and fascinating as anything Mead ever documented.

My Cultural Education Continues

I count my blessings for a profession that has taken me all over the world to connect with people in their most authentic moments—not as a tourist, but as someone genuinely invested in understanding how different communities function, heal, and thrive. A couple of places come to mind right away.

Taiwan gave me a guiding principle. Teaching fellow human service workers, I kept walking past this stunning calligraphed proverb at the agency entrance. When a woman from my class finally translated it for me—"happiness is something to do, someone to love, something to hope for"—it hit like lightning. I'd been thinking about happiness and wellbeing all wrong, chasing it like some distant prize. Now I know it's not a destination but three ongoing actions: choosing love, finding purpose, and nurturing hope.

Moloka'i showed me what community care actually looks like. Those Hawaiian community meetings revolutionized my entire approach to leadership. I watched them transform conflict into connection, turn individual complaints into community solutions. No Robert's Rules here—just ancient wisdom that ensured every voice shaped the outcome. They challenged my assumptions about facilitation, questioned my mainland methods, and showed me that true community building is spiritual work. Now, when I facilitate meetings anywhere, I carry their teachings: slow down, listen deeper, and remember that sustainable solutions must serve the collective, not just individual needs.

While my work has taken me to places I never would have had the chance to visit otherwise and provided me access to everything from family kitchens to community councils, it's also taught me that you don't need to go to the ends of the earth to discover profound cultural wisdom; sometimes, it can be found right in the apartment complex down the street.

Recognizing the Culture Explorer in Me (and You)

That inner anthropologist? She never went away. I'm still the person who gets excited about eating mystery food from street vendors while surrounded by conversations in languages I don't understand. I sometimes ask endless questions about how different cultures handle grief, celebrate transitions, raise children, and care for elders.

As I developed the Culture Explorer stamp, I came at it with someone whose deepest joy comes from immersing themselves in different ways of being human—not just collecting experiences, but as someone genuinely invested in understanding how different groups create meaning, solve problems, and build community. I believe there are many of us out there, and that curiosity, even if just a seedling, lives in us all.

The Culture Explorer stamp is part of the Adventure & Exploration pillar. For more information about the framework, see THIS POST.

Find YOUR Places Stamp HERE.

Want more Culture Explorer basics? See HERE.

Download the Culture Explorer Planner & Journal at the bottom of the post to build out your connection plan.

The Psychology Behind This Stamp

Let me get nerdy for a hot minute about why Culture Explorers are essential for humanity's survival. When we immerse ourselves in different cultures, we're literally rewiring our brains for empathy and complex problem-solving.

Here's what happens in your brain when you culture-hop:

• Your prefrontal cortex gets a serious workout, boosting flexibility and creativity

• Mirror neurons fire when you observe different behaviors, literally helping you understand others

• Cognitive flexibility increases, making you better at seeing multiple solutions to problems

• Your default mode network (where prejudices hang out) gets disrupted in the best possible way

In my practice, I've seen how people who've experienced different cultures become natural bridge-builders. They're the ones who can walk into a tense meeting and find common ground because they've practiced seeing humanity in unfamiliar packages.

Why Your Culture Explorer Nature is Essential

Culture Explorers are natural community healers—something we need badly these days.

You serve as society's:

• Prejudice disruptors: Your experiences challenge stereotypes before they harden

• Empathy teachers: You model curiosity over judgment

• Bridge builders: You find common humanity across differences

• Wisdom keepers: You preserve stories and traditions that might otherwise be lost

What Makes a Culture Explorer

The Culture Explorer stamp isn't just about traveling to exotic locations. It's about recognizing that you're someone who seeks places and experiences that connect you with the full spectrum of human creativity, ingenuity, and resilience. You're drawn to situations that challenge your assumptions, not because you enjoy discomfort, but because learning how other people live expands who you are.

Let's explore how to embrace and try out the wonderful qualities of this stamp. You'll see a couple of my own "to-do’s" mixed in, too. If you've experienced any of these, I'd love to hear your insights and tips!

First Step: Practice Tourist-to-Immersion Awareness

Through years of professional and personal travel, I've learned to distinguish between cultural tourism and cultural immersion:

Cultural tourism says "Look at how different they are" and maintains separation. Cultural immersion says "Look at how creatively they've solved problems we all face" and seeks connection across differences.

The Culture Explorer stamp represents this evolution. We can go from casual interest in differences to deep investment in understanding human ingenuity across cultures. I encourage you to give it a try next time your faced with a differing worldview.

Start Local: Your Culture Explorer Training Ground

Pow Wow Participation (Check Local Tribal Nations)
Many tribes welcome respectful visitors to public pow wows and other ceremonies. Follow protocols (ask before photographing, understand sacred vs. social dances), and prepare to be amazed by the intricacies and beauty of this community event.

ON MY TO-DO: The Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony Experience
Find your local Ethiopian restaurant and ask about their buna coffee ceremony. It's a 2-3 hour ritual that teaches patience, community, and the art of slowing down. I'm looking at one in Portland. It looks like I need to go hungry: the ceremony includes amazing food, and pointing at injera and munching on popcorn sounds delightful. If you've been, please let me know!

Mid-Range Adventures: Safe But Transformative

San Antonio's Mission Trails
Consider hiking or biking the 8-mile trail to visit the 18th-century Spanish missions and other sites along the trail system. Visit the active parishes and churches, living pieces of Tejano culture. Stay in the Southtown district and practice your Spanish with vendors at the Farmers & Artisans Market. Stop by a colorful panadería and get some conchas and marranitos!

ON MY TO-DO: Quebec
I've never been to Quebec City, but it's on my short list, especially during the fall foliage. I want to be dropped into French-Canadian culture, stay in Old Quebec, eat tourtière, and practice my terrible French. Or maybe I'll wait for early spring to enjoy snowboarding and a proper sugar shack. Oh heck, I'll just keep both seasons on my to-do list.

Bigger Adventures: For the Committed Culture Explorer

Taiwan
Taiwan offers incredible cultural density in a compact package. Night markets teach you about communal eating at its greatest, while temples showcase multiple ways of living spirituality. Visit indigenous cultural centers, like the National Museum of Prehistory, or spend hours in the National Palace Museum to admire the famous treasures.

ON MY TO-DO: Morocco
I've heard it's best to start with a group tour. Morocco offers incredible cultural immersion. I want to experience hammam rituals, navigate souks, and say yes to tea invitations while learning Arabic greetings.

Your Practical Culture Explorer Toolkit

1. The Language Bridge

Learn these phrases in any language: "Hello," "Thank you," "Please," "I don't understand," and "Can you help me?" You're showing respect through the effort of communication.

2. Some Curiosity Question Prompts

• "How do you celebrate [holidays/life events] here?"

• "What's a tradition visitors often misunderstand?"

• "What would you want people to know about your community?"

• "Can you teach me the proper way to [eat this/greet people/show respect]?"

3. The Respectful Observer Rules

1. Ask before assuming: That festival might be sacred, not tourist entertainment

2. Act appropriately: Learn some local customs before you arrive

3. Dress codes might matter: Research religious/cultural expectations

4. Photography permissions: Always ask, especially of people or religious sites

5. Sacred vs. social: Be mindful of when you're witnessing something spiritual and awe-inspiring

4. For Stretching Your Culture Explorer Side

Monthly: Try one new cultural experience in your own city
Quarterly: Take a weekend trip somewhere culturally different from home
Annually: Plan one bigger adventure that challenges your worldview
Daily: Practice curiosity about people who seem different from you

Dear Culture Explorer,

Thank you for not judging other ways of being human. You're learning from them. You know that every culture has something valuable to offer, and you're humble enough to be taught.

Your gift is finding places that broaden your perspective and deepen your understanding of humanity. Use it wisely, and always travel with your inner anthropologist as your guide.

The world needs more people like you who understand that "different" doesn't mean "wrong," just "another beautiful way of solving the puzzle of being human."

Heal our world with your openness,
Natalie

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Not sure about your stamp makeup? Take the quiz HERE. Want more about the Culture Explorer stamp? See HERE.

Download the Culture Explorer Planner & Journal. Please let me know what you think!

Culture Explorer Planner & Journal

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Plot, plan, and track your connection to cultures with this guide.

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This stamp is so close to my heart. It captures exactly what we were searching for when we sold everything and hit the road in 2020. Don't get me wrong, living in Colorado meant weekends of trails, dispersed camping, and 14ers, but we wanted more. We longed for that feeling of not knowing what might be around the next bend to become a way of life.

When I designed the main traits of this stamp, I knew I needed to draw inspiration from my lifetime pursuit of adventure. It couldn't just be another ode to the outdoors or a list of pretty places to visit. I had to include the adventurous side of outdoor life, that thrill of not knowing what you might see or run into when you’re with Mother Nature.

If this call from nature speaks to you, this post may be further confirmation that you are a Wild Wanderer. But please know, this stamp isn't about being the most extreme or adventurous person out there.

It's about honoring that part of yourself that knows you belong outside, that craves challenge, and that finds peace in wild places.

The Wild Wanderer stamp is part of the Adventure & Exploration pillar. For more information about the framework, see THIS POST.

Find YOUR Places Stamp HERE.

Want more Wild Wanderer basics? See HERE.

Download the Wild Wanderer Planner & Journal at the bottom of the post to track your adventures (I may have gone a little survival-heavy on this one. Please let me know what you think!).

While on the road, we've encountered our share of wildlife on the 400+ trails (LOVE the AllTrails app, btw) we've explored. Snakes, scorpions, and other dangerous critters have kept us alert. But the most consistent "dangers" we face are ticks and spider webs on remote trails. We take turns being the one in front, wielding a stick to try to knock down webs before we blow through them – glamorous, right?

The irony is that the truly risky stuff has been entirely self-inflicted. We've parachuted, cliff-jumped, ziplined, and sway-bridged our way across the country, choosing calculated adventures that probably pose more real danger than any wildlife we've encountered. Yet those are precisely the moments I feel most alive – when we're pushing our own boundaries rather than just reacting to nature's surprises.

I thank my parents for raising me to take risks, like BMX racing as a kid (Top 10 girl in the state of Wyoming, though granted, there were only 10 of us). That foundation planted something deep that refuses to quit, even as this body ages. While we're here on the Pacific coast, my latest obsession is parasailing. I watch those colorful chutes floating along the coastline and can already feel myself being lifted, suspended above the ocean. There's still an extreme athlete living in this aging frame, just waiting for the next chance to remember what it feels like to fly. I suppose I'm still figuring out new ways to feel free.

The Psychology Behind Your Wild Side

When helping people, especially kids, I love it when we can move our time together outside. It's remarkable to observe how exposure to nature alters stress responses. The science behind it is pretty cool, too. Which, of course, I’m going to go into. I might as well share my favorite ways of connecting with nature while I’m at it.

What happens is your amygdala, that little alarm bell in your brain, finally gets to stand down. Meanwhile, your hippocampus (memory and mood central) starts producing BDNF, basically Miracle-Gro for brain cells.

Nature calms your whole being. Your brain doesn't just relax; it actually changes. Experts say within 15 minutes of forest bathing (yes, that's the technical term coined by the Japanese, shinrin-yoku), your cortisol drops, your prefrontal cortex gets a break from decision fatigue, and something called "soft fascination" kicks in. Translation? Your mind stops ping-ponging between anxiety spirals and finally gets to just…be.

The sun’s Vitamin D offering. Low D doesn't just make you tired – it cranks up anxiety, tanks motivation, and makes everything feel harder than it needs to be. Sure, I get vitamin D from food and supplements, but I've found that twenty minutes of morning sun exposure does something those methods can't: it gives me actual peace time while my body soaks up what it needs. I've noticed this simple ritual helps me at least start the day from a steadier, perimenopausal mood baseline.

Earthing – aka the fancy term for "take your shoes off outside." Sounds woo-woo until you realize it's just physics and that humans have been connecting with the ground for a really long time. Basically, it's believed that direct earth contact helps balance your nervous system. The earth has a negative electrical charge that neutralizes the positive charge buildup in your body from… well, our modern life. Direct skin contact with the earth – sand, grass, dirt – transfers electrons that may reduce inflammation and reset your circadian rhythms. I try for some sort of shoes-off time every day, like walks on the beach. It's a nice time to throw in some internal grounding (as in mindfulness time), too. This article from the Cleveland Clinic breaks down both forms nicely.

So, if you want a little more Wild Wanderer in your life, stop treating nature time like a luxury. It's maintenance. Like brushing your teeth. Your nervous system doesn't care if it's an Amazon rainforest or a city park trail. It just needs regular reminders that you're an animal who belongs outside.

Building Wild Wanderer Time Into Your Daily Life

For Wild Wanderers who can't always escape to the wilderness, try out these ideas.

Daily Nature Micro-Dosing (15-30 minutes)

• Morning ritual: Coffee or tea outside. Every day.

• Lunch break adventures: Find your nearest state park. Even 30 minutes rewires your day.

• The commute hack: Take the scenic route. Windows down. Deep breaths.

• Evening grounding: 10 minutes barefoot in your yard or local park

Weekend Warrior Mode (2-4 hours)

• Local trail exploration: Use the AllTrails app to find new paths, likely within an hour of home

• Adventure challenges: Set monthly goals (new elevation gain, distance, or skill)

• Weather warriors: Don't let conditions stop you – gear up and go anyway

The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique

This technique works anywhere, but I like to go through it on a trail: 5 things you see, 4 you hear, 3 you touch, 2 you smell, 1 you taste. Okay, I've got to admit that taste one requires some discretion – I'm not asking you to lick a tree. What I love about this simple exercise is how it pulls you out of your head and into your body, connecting you to the immediate environment.

Finding Your Wild Wanderer Places

The beautiful truth about Wild Wanderer energy is that it's scalable. You don't need to quit your job and buy an RV (though if you do, contact me, we'll swap stories). You just need to honor that part of yourself that knows you're meant for more than cubicles and concrete.

Here are some ways to up your adventure exposure:

Challenge Level: Places that make you work for the reward. The view from the parking lot is nice, but try for the view you earn after a 5-mile climb.

Remoteness Factor: Minimal human interference. If you can hear traffic, you're not remote enough. Look for places where you might be the first person on the trail that day. (Watch for spider webs.)

Natural Obstacles: Rivers to cross, rocks to scramble, elevation to gain. Your body needs to problem-solve, not just walk.

Unpredictability: Places where you don't know exactly what you'll encounter. Wildlife possible, weather changeable, terrain varied. (Please go prepared!)

Here are a few places across the US that I've enjoyed exploring:

Mountain regions: Anywhere in the Rocky Mountains or Smoky Mountains – elevation changes, weather challenges, vast wilderness views

Desert landscapes: Joshua Tree and Arizona's Superstition Mountains – extreme environments that test your limits

Coastal adventures: Pacific Coast Highway stops, Oregon's rugged coastline (like Ecola State Park) – where land meets sea in dramatic ways

Canyon country: So many in Idaho: Box Canyon, Bruneau, Twin Falls – steep terrain, epic waterfalls

Forest wilderness: Olympic Peninsula rainforests, along the Natchez Trace Parkway – like a big tree hug

The Adventure Element: Why Safe Isn't Always Better

Adventure-based movies and shows are the one genre my husband and I can agree on – survival in jungles, snowed-in mountains, water challenges, the more treacherous the better. "Alone" is a favorite; we're always debating how contestants choose to build shelters and start fires. Watching these shows taps into something within us, but it's also a safe way to explore survival scenarios.

The thing is, all that couch adventuring eventually makes me want to test myself in real life. That Wild Wanderer spirit needs to feel alive, and that requires some element of the unknown. So I've tried translating what I see on screen into controlled risk experiences – NOT reckless endangerment, but calculated adventures that remind me that I’m capable of more than I think. Here are some ideas that I’ve tried out. Please consider doing the same.

Building Adventure Into Your Life Gradually:

• Start with guided experiences: Explore kayaking and guided backcountry trips. Guides provide safety nets while you build confidence.

• Learn skills progressively: I'm fairly certain I'll never master navigation (whether it's on trails, water, or even highways), but I keep trying. I encourage you to challenge yourself as well.

• Weather reading: I feel like I'm getting better at this, given the box we live in and the many climates we've encountered – hurricanes, tornadoes, flash floods, high winds, monsoons, tsunamis, hail. Tap into the many apps that track climate and prepare accordingly.

• Partner with experienced adventurers: I've learned so much from local experts, who are always willing to share their lessons.

Every Wild Wanderer started somewhere. Your wild side isn't about being fearless – it's about being brave enough to start where you are.

Tap Into Your Wild Wanderer

You don't need anything special. You just need to honor that voice inside that says, "I want to feel more alive."

For the hesitant: Start with your local park. Walk a trail you've never walked. Notice how your body feels different when your feet hit dirt instead of pavement.

For the busy: Nature doesn't require a ton of time. It requires intention. Five minutes of morning sun, lunch eaten outside, evening walks in the trees.

For the afraid: Fear is information, not a stop sign. Start small, build confidence, and find your tribe of fellow adventurers to support you.

For the skeptical: Try it for two weeks. Notice your sleep, your mood, your energy. Your body will convince you faster than I ever could.

You're wired for a wild connection. The mud on your boots isn't mess – it's evidence you're taking care of yourself the way evolution intended. Your wild heart isn't asking for too much. It's asking for exactly what it needs to keep you fully alive.

Dear Wild Wanderers,

Thanks for keeping us close to nature, reminding us of the world's beauty and power. Your courage to seek the untamed places gives others permission to step onto the path less traveled. You transform "I could never do that" into "maybe I could try." You turn weekend warriors into lifetime adventurers.

Your dedication to wild places is a form of rebellion we desperately need to break from our digital-run lives. You're not just chasing adrenaline – you're preserving what makes us human.

Thank you for keeping the wild alive, in yourself and in all of us.

With gratitude and feet in the grass,
Natalie

Download the Wild Wanderer Planner & Journal to track your adventures. I may have gone a little survival-heavy on this one. Please let me know what you think!

Wild Wanderer Planner & Journal 2025

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Get tips, ideas, and reflection questions to tap into your Wild Wanderer.

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Hey Club Crew,

This stamp took some major brain power. I knew I had to put time into shaping it, and not just fit the word into the title. So when I sat down to create the Time Traveler personality for the Places Stamps collection, I realized I was staring into something vast, almost overwhelming in its scope. But that's exactly why this stamp matters so much, and why understanding the pull you have to the past might be more relevant to your daily life than you think.

Not sure if this is your stamp? Find out HERE.

The Time Traveler Stamp is the second of the Connection & Community pillar. For more information about all eight stamps, see the STAMP COLLECTION. Be sure to download the Time Traveler Planner and Journal at the end of this post, too! Just like the People Magnet one, this walks through a month of self-discovery and action planning.

The Pull We Can't Explain

There's something deeply human about being drawn to places where others have lived, loved, struggled, and dreamed before us. You don't need a history degree to claim this stamp. You just need that spark of recognition when you walk into a place with stories to tell. Maybe you're the person who:

• Runs your hand along old brick walls, wondering about the hands that laid them

• Gets goosebumps in old churches, feeling the weight of centuries of prayers

• Chooses the historic inn over the modern hotel every time

• Or maybe you feel a connection with your old self

That's the pull of the past. It's not just about dates or facts. It's about recognition.

What Science Tells Us About Historical Connection

Research suggests our brains are wired for story and pattern recognition. When we encounter places rich with human history, we're not just observing—we're completing a circuit that connects us to the broader human experience. Environmental psychologists call this "place attachment. " It’s the same big picture theory behind my own seeking and creation of YOUR Places Club. But for Time Travelers, it goes deeper.

Perhaps you're responding to what researchers term "collective memory." It is the way communities and cultures hold onto their stories through physical spaces. When you feel that pull toward historical places, you're tapping into something fundamental: the human need to understand where we fit in the great story of our species.

Beyond the History Books

Being a Time Traveler is also much more personal and immediate than just to amaze with dates and facts. You can tap into it in that moment when you walk into a space and feel something shift inside you. Maybe it's nostalgia, maybe it's a wish for a life different from yours now, maybe it's simply recognition that this place holds stories worth knowing.

Your "history" could be two months ago, two years ago, or two decades ago. The abandoned shopping mall from your childhood, the pizza place where you had your first date, the elementary school playground that's now a parking lot—these are YOUR historical sites, and they matter just as much as any ancient ruin.

An example, you ask. Sure thing.

Recently, my husband and I ventured into a roller skating rink during our RV travels. The moment we laced up those skates, we were 10 years old again. The lights, the smell of deep-fried and sugary treats, the feeling of floating to music—suddenly we were time-traveling together and discovering a whole new side of each other. We learned we'd both spent countless hours at rinks in our youth, and there we were, over achy joints and overworked knees, connecting not just to our own past but to the universal experience of childhood joy.

That's what this stamp is really about. What the past means to you and the places that help you tap into it.

What Belfast Also Taught Me About Living Memory

One of the most impactful historical experiences I've had wasn't in a museum. It was on a bus tour of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Seeing the remnants of not-so-distant conflicts was eye-opening. The walls, the significance of colors, the amazing murals telling stories of struggle and hope. This wasn't distant history. This was living memory, affecting real people today.

That tour taught me something crucial: our pull to the past isn't about escaping the present. It's about understanding that history isn't just "back then." It's the continuous story we're all part of, and understanding it helps us understand ourselves and our world right now.

The Psychology of Place Memory

What draws Time Travelers to certain places? Research suggests several factors:

Emotional Resonance: Places that housed intense human experiences—love, loss, triumph, struggle—seem to hold that energy. We're drawn to locations where people felt deeply.

Sensory Triggers: Old buildings carry scents, sounds, and textures that activate our memory centers, even if we've never been there before. That musty smell in a castle stairwell or the echo of footsteps on stone can transport us instantly.

Pattern Recognition: Our brains are constantly looking for familiar patterns. Historical places often follow design principles and spatial arrangements that feel "right" to us across cultures and centuries.

Story Hunger: Humans are narrative creatures. Places with rich stories satisfy our deep need to understand how life unfolds over time.

Making Time Travel Part of Your Life

(More about this in the Planner & Journal below.)

You know what fascinates me about time? It feels completely different depending on our age and experiences. When you're 8 years old, last summer feels like ancient history. When you're 50, the last decade can feel like it happened yesterday.

So when we talk about being a Time Traveler, we're not just talking about ancient civilizations that are far away.

Your Local Adventures (Start This Weekend!)

• Visit your hometown's historical society

• Walk through your oldest local neighborhood and imagine who lived there 50 years ago

• Ask your parents or grandparents about their childhood memories of places you know

• Check out your local library's historical photo collection

Follow Your Curiosity

• Interested in fashion? Visit costume exhibits at local museums

• Love food? Explore the history of your favorite cuisine through ethnic neighborhoods

• Fascinated by technology? Find old machinery museums or preserved factories

• Into genealogy? Start with your own family's story

Create Your Own Time Capsules

• Keep ticket stubs, photos, and notes from meaningful places

• Write about how places make you feel, not just what you learned

• Share stories with others or record an oral history

• Start a "then and now" photo collection of your hometown

Practice Present-Moment Time Travel

• In any old building, pause and imagine the conversations that happened there

• At antique stores, hold objects and wonder about their previous owners

• When you see old photos, study the backgrounds—what was daily life like then?

• Visit old cemeteries and check out the headstones

Hang On—I'm Going Deep for a Moment

What can we learn from our pull to the past? Several profound things:

We're all connected across time: That feeling of recognition in historical places reminds us that human nature is remarkably consistent. People have always loved, feared, hoped, and dreamed.

Context shapes everything: Understanding how people lived in different eras gives us perspective on our current challenges and opportunities.

Place matters: The environments we create and inhabit shape who we become, both individually and collectively.

Stories are medicine: Connecting with the experiences of those who came before us can heal isolation and provide wisdom for our own journeys.

The Time Traveler stamp matters because it addresses something fundamental about being human: our need to belong to something larger than our individual moment.

So the next time you trace your finger along moss-lined stone walls, stand in a cathedral where centuries of prayers have been whispered, or touch the worn bannister of a staircase climbed by thousands of feet over decades, know that you're plugging into the great human story.

This doesn't have to be about escaping your present life. It can be about enriching it. Understanding how people before us lived, struggled, celebrated, and overcame challenges gives us perspective on our own journey. It reminds us that we're part of an ongoing story, that our current problems aren't unprecedented, and that humans have always found ways to create beauty and meaning regardless of their circumstances.

Your Personal Journey Forward

The great part of the Time Traveler stamp, just like all the others, is that it's entirely yours to define. Are you drawn to:

• Ancestry exploration: Tracking your family's story through places and documents?

• Cultural immersion: Learning how different societies solved life's challenges?

• Empathy building: Understanding perspectives from different eras?

• Creative inspiration: Finding stories that spark your imagination?

• Wisdom seeking: Looking for timeless lessons about human nature?

None of these approaches is more "right" than the others. While along the way you may just become a historian, the real goal is to become more connected to the richness of human experience.

Start Where You Are

Being a Time Traveler doesn't require grand expeditions or extensive research. It requires presence, curiosity, and the willingness to see every place as a chapter in humanity's ongoing story.

Start tomorrow by noticing the oldest building on your daily route. This weekend, visit one local historical site you've always meant to explore. Next month, plan a trip that feeds your particular brand of time travel curiosity.

The past isn't distant—it's all around you, in the places where people lived and loved and built the world you've inherited. Your Time Traveler stamp recognizes that you have the gift of feeling those connections and honoring those stories.

Dear Time Travelers,

You are the keepers of stories, the bridge builders between past and present. You understand that every place holds layers of human experience, and you have the gift of feeling those connections in your bones. Thank you for embracing time as precious, for honoring those who came before us, and for keeping their stories alive through your curiosity and reverence. You recognize that understanding where we've been helps us navigate where we're going.

Thank you for seeing beyond the surface to the soul of a place. Your willingness to step into the past transforms not just your own understanding, but also enriches everyone around you.

The world needs your gift of connection. Your ability to make the past feel alive and relevant for all of us is very worthwhile.

Keep exploring, keep wondering, keep connecting.

Natalie

P.S. Your Time Traveler Planner and Journal is waiting below. It includes a month of prompts and exercises to deepen this beautiful aspect of who you are.

Time Travel Planner & Journal 2025

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At least a month's worth of guided exploring of this YOUR Places Stamp, complete with journal prompts, weekly challenges, and reflection exercises to help you discover exactly how this beautiful part of your personality shows up in your life.

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What place calls to the Time Traveler in you? Also, please share your questions and suggestions in the comments.

There you are again, somehow deep in conversation with the person next to you at the farmer's market, exchanging restaurant recommendations with a stranger at the coffee shop, or finding yourself invited to join a pickleball game in a park you've never been to before.

Sound familiar?

If this is your life, congratulations: you're likely a People Magnet. And while everyone else is wondering how you make it look so effortless, I'm here to tell you why this stamp type is so important to our communities and how we can all tap into it.

Not sure if this is your stamp? Find out HERE.

The People Magnet Stamp is the first of the Connection & Community pillar. For more information about all eight stamps, see the STAMP COLLECTION. Be sure to download the People Magnet Planner and Journal at the end of this post, too!

That Electric Hum of Human Connection

You know that feeling when you walk into a space and there's this electric hum in the air, not from the speakers or lights, but from the people. It's like live voltage you can actually feel coursing through the crowd.

Places where I've felt this magic:

The 4th of July Fireworks: As darkness settled, families spread their blankets and the orchestra warmed up. There was this incredible collective anticipation building. I found myself chatting with the couple to my left about their 25-year tradition of attending, while helping the young family to my right keep their toddler entertained. By the time the fireworks started, we weren't strangers anymore. In the dark with bright lights blasting above us, we were a community.

Munich's Springfest (Oktoberfest's feisty little sister): Picture massive beer tents stretched across a meadow, strangers from every corner of the world suddenly singing the same songs, sharing tables, and laughing like old friends. Perhaps it was the lager, but I found myself chatting with a family from Australia at one table, then somehow leading a toast with a group of German locals at another. That's the magic of fully embracing the People Magnet within you—you don't just visit places, you become part of them.

My Greatest Education in Human Connection

One of my all-time favorite jobs was in my mid-20s. As a newbie social worker, I was a community liaison for people with disabilities. My whole job was helping people explore their interests and discover the many ways community brings people together. I got to know the hobbies and passions of so many people—everything from model trains and coin collecting to swing dancing and ukulele lessons. This job taught me that people open up when they're talking about what they love. If there’s an interest, there's probably a club for it. And when you share those same interests, the conversation becomes effortless.

Two takeaways from my favorite job:

Share your curiosity boldly. When noticing someone who has figured out something you’re curious about, ask them, "How did you get into that?" People tend to light up when you show genuine interest.

Look for the origin story behind the interest. The woman at the pottery wheel didn't just start yesterday. The guy with the vintage camera has tales to tell. Everyone has a "how I got started" story they're dying to share.

Your Local Advantage: People Magnets at Home

The beautiful truth about local connections is you don't just have one shot. Unlike travel connections that might be fleeting, building community in your backyard gives you the luxury of time and repetition.

Ways to tap into shared interests locally:

Join clubs and associations. Photography clubs, hiking groups, book clubs—every interest has its people. I've watched shy newcomers become core members over just a few gatherings.

Become a regular. Pick places and go at a specific time, like a fitness class at the gym or a counter seat at a family diner. This allows you to get to know the flow of people when you go multiple times.

Volunteer for causes you care about. Animal shelter, community garden, festival planning—shared purpose creates instant bonds.

Take classes. Learning alongside others naturally breaks down barriers. The shared struggle of trying something new creates immediate camaraderie.

Local Examples That Worked For Me

Tuesday Night Trivia: What started as showing up evolved into a weekly tradition with the same regulars.

Morning Dog Park Ritual: Over time, you learn everyone's names (human and canine) and become part of an informal support network.

Seasonal Sports League: Months of shared goals and competition naturally develop into real friendships.

How to Maximize Your People Magnet Powers

Level up your natural abilities:

1. Choose connection over comfort. Seek places where people are open to interaction.

2. Master warm introductions. Help others connect with each other.

3. Create traditions. Invite others and watch the community build around you.

4. Follow genuine interests. Passion is magnetic.

Trust your instincts. If a place feels alive with human energy, lean in. That stadium parking lot tailgate buzz before a game? That's your People Magnet radar detecting opportunity.

Bring Out the People Magnet in Others

• Create opportunities for natural conversation

• Choose activities that encourage interaction over isolation

• Be the person who says "yes" when someone suggests joining in

• Ask follow-up questions that show you're really listening

• Remember details and ask about them next time

Your Challenge This Month

LOCAL:
Find one place where people naturally gather around a shared interest. Maybe it's:

• A community garden workday

• Local hiking group meetup

• Pottery studio's open night

• Volunteer orientation

Feel that electric hum. Smile, introduce yourself, and ask how you can get involved.

TRAVEL PLANNING:
Consider destinations known for welcoming communities, festivals, or social experiences.

Connection-focused travel ideas:
✓ Community festivals

✓ Cooking classes

✓ Local markets

✓ Volunteer trips

✓ Group tours with shared interests

The Ripple Effect You Create

Dear People Magnets,

You don’t just improve a place by your presence; you also make everyone around you feel more alive. You help people experience what it truly means to be seen and welcomed. You transform strangers into friends and ordinary moments into extraordinary memories.

Thank you for sharing your love for connection. In our digital world, this gift is more precious than ever!

Natalie

P.S. Download the People Magnet Planner and Journal. Reply below with your questions. Suggestions for other helpful tools are so very welcome, too!

Pm Planner & Journal 2025

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Hey Club Members,

Meet Richard Philion from Travelling Troubadour! When I came across his Substack and discovered his dance background, I was suddenly channeling my inner eight-year-old, cycling through all five ballet positions (arms and all) as I devoured his posts. Maybe it was my recent Étoile binge that gave me the courage, or his artistic approach to travel writing, but I knew I had to reach out.

Richard was incredibly gracious, not only responding to my random DM but also agreeing to tackle my barrage of questions about his travel perspective. What follows are my questions and his responses, complete with my real-time reactions as I read his thoughtful answers.

Natalie's first written question (nervous and wanting to sound professional): How has your dance background influenced the way you observe and write about places?

Richard's brilliant response: Dance, and the required training, is highly visual. Later, as a teacher and coach, I am having to constantly observe. When I travel I find myself watching others— how locals and guides react when they think we’re not looking, how other tourists navigate unfamiliar situations. My background learning and creating choreography has forced me to notice patterns, or the absence of them. I’m also acutely aware of local art and it’s differences and, most importantly, similarities to what we have at home.

My inner thoughts: I'm right there with you about observing others and loving the flow of visuals in this response. Now I'm wondering - has he ever experienced a flash mob? Am I the only one who visits places and hopes people will break out into musical numbers?

Back to Natalie’s next written question: Along with attention to detail, do you find yourself noticing movement, rhythm, or visual composition because of that training?

Richard’s awesome response: I find myself walking behind people and noticing that their hips are out of alignment, their gait uneven. Always in tune to how other people and their bodies are moving, I find that when I travel I pay particular attention to the unconscious choreography of crowds. Visually, the composition of towns and cities always stands out for either its extreme harmony or lack there of. Music, a constant presence in my life, fascinates me— what is playing on the radio in the taxi? the restaurant? the convenience store?

My inner voice, now more outer: YES! A fellow constant soundtrack person. I nod about his insight on posture and straighten. I'm due for a chiropractor appointment and proper posture is so important to health.

Natalie # 3: I really like your photos. Are they your own? If so, do you plan shots to complement your stories?

Kind Richard: Thank you! I take all my own photos with my iPhone. I try not to ever plan my shots and take pictures of whatever calls to me in the moment. It’s easy to become stuck behind the camera so I try to stay present and limit my photos so I can enjoy the place I’m visiting. I don’t plan shots to compliment my stories, but so far I’ve found I always have the shots I need to accompany the story.

Glancing at my iPhone, “Why can’t you do that for me?”

Natalie #4: You cover such a variety of places. How do you decide between revisiting familiar spots versus exploring new ones?

My favorite of Richard’s responses: I love exploring new places and rarely revisit (although I always tell myself I will). I’m the same when I cook, I’m always trying new recipes and only have a select few that I repeat. Broadly, my partner and I are always returning to Italy, although rarely the same exact locations. Thailand is our other go-to, it’s our favorite relaxation spot. With every trip I take I find myself adding multiple places to my list of “want to visit.” Visiting somewhere new and unknown usually wins out in the planning process.

I’m nodding again and opening a new browser tab to check flights to Thailand.

Natalie's 5th question, while attempting what can generously be called ballet’s fifth position: Is there a common thread/reason that pulls you to certain locations?

Richard in his wisdom: Nature, whether it’s mountains, wildlife, or unique landscapes will always pique my interest. I love the culture and vibrancy of cities but the beauty and diversity of the natural world is what interests me the most.

So true, Richard. So true!

Natalie’s shameless “place-related” question: Have you had a moment when a place you visited just "clicked" for you? If so, can you pinpoint why?

Richard on point: Funnily enough the place is here in the United States. I went to Glacier National Park during 2020 on a whim. I didn’t know enough about the park to realize I could see very little in June, I was just happy to get out of NYC. I immediately planned a trip for July the following year and fell in love. It has the most beautiful concentration of hiking trails. Sitting alone atop Swiftcurrent Mountain I realized I could come back here every year for the rest of my life.

I’m feeling akin, growing up in Wyoming and in Oregon now: I get it!

Natalie's last chance: Would you ever consider writing about NYC?

Richard’s sneak peak share: I’m working on it! I wrote one post about my neighborhood recently. My goal is to see the city through a visitor’s eyes. I’ve lived in NYC for over a decade and it has so much to offer that I overlook being a long time resident. When I have some downtime my goal is to explore some new-to-me neighborhoods and write about them.

Please, yes! Can't wait to see NYC through those trained dancer's eyes.

Richard, I can't thank you enough for your time and for sharing your travel insights. I know I'm not alone in looking forward to where you're headed next!

Club Members, visit Richard's travel corner for more of his fantastic stories and photos.

Travelling Troubadour Substack

Natalie

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Hey there club members,

For those who've been following this journey, especially those who helped during the early development, you know what's coming. To newcomers: WELCOME!

It's About the WHY, Not Only the Where

With beta testing wrapped up, I'm officially rolling out the YOUR Places Stamp Finder™ with full descriptions of the eight stamps. This process isn't just about beaches versus mountains. It's about uncovering the deeper patterns of places that move you, ground you, or set you free. The same instincts that draw you to certain destinations often mirror what makes you gravitate toward specific coffee shops, neighborhoods, hiking trails, or even that corner of your living room where you feel most yourself.

Most of us are completely unaware of these patterns. We know we love that one brewery or feel energized when at a particular park, but we've never examined the common threads.

Why "Stamps"? I miss that satisfying ker-plunk of passport stamps and then flipping through my passport, reliving memories. So I tapped into that feeling. You'll notice the passport-looking stamps for each personality style. Through the testing, eight distinct patterns were identified in how people connect with places.

What Beta Testing Revealed

Thanks to the brave souls kind enough to try out questions and early versions, along with my onslaught of follow-up questions. The top revelations they shared:

Far more complex place preferences than first thought
Turns out we're not as simple as "I like quiet places" or "I prefer busy cities."

Wanted results beyond a single assigned stamp
Nobody wanted to be boxed into one stamp—hence the primary plus three runner-ups approach to the results.

Particular about stamp names and distinctions
I got feedback ranging from "lame" to "vague" on early naming and description attempts. Fair enough, I hope these will do.

Never consciously considered their relationship with place before
This was the big one. Most people had never stopped to think about why certain spaces feel right.

Understanding these patterns led to informed choices
Once people learned their patterns, they shared with me how they used them to make decisions about where to go and how to spend their time.

Huge thanks to everyone who participated. Your feedback shaped every question and each stamp's development.

The Final 16 Questions

What you’ll see when you answer the questions that lead to your stamp results:

Focuses on why, not what
I tried to move past surface-level preference questions without getting too touchy-feely.

Battle-tested
Every question is refined through real feedback from real people.

Acknowledges your complexity
Once you answer them all, you get a primary stamp plus three runner-ups with percentages.

Let’s Walk Through It

Step 1: Answer All 16 Questions
Trust your gut and answer based on how you feel today. Your first instinct is usually the most honest. Don't overthink it. This is about patterns, not perfection.

Step 2: Review Your Results
You'll get your primary stamp (strongest match) plus three runner-ups with exact percentages.

Step 3: Save Your Results
On your results page, you'll see options:

• Screenshot for quick reference

• Text for mobile access

• Email for deeper exploration

• Socials copy for sharing

Step 4: Explore Your Top Stamp
At the bottom of the page, click "Learn About All 8 Stamps". Once on the YOUR Places Stamp Collection page, click your primary stamp for more information.

Step 5: Check Your Runner-Ups
Return to the YOUR Places Stamp Collection page, click on any of your three runner-up stamps for more information.

Step 6: Browse All 8 Stamps
Check out the full stamp collection for how others experience places. This is also great for planning with your crew.

Start the Questions Here

What Each Stamp Reveals

Every stamp breakdown includes:

• What you look for in a place

• Your core traits regarding space and environment

• What drives you when searching for your kind of place

• Your Power Places

• Your bottom line summary

Understanding your stamps helps you:

• Find spots (local and far) that energize you

• Plan trips aligned with what you seek in a place

• Recognize why certain places feel like "home"

• Navigate planning differences with others

A Note About Complexity

We all have elements of every stamp. They're based on human patterns, so odds are good they'll resonate with different sides of you.

You are infinitely more complex than any assessment—even all eight stamps combined. The stamps capture a snapshot of current patterns. As you evolve, your relationship with place might too. That's not a limitation, it's what makes you wonderfully human.

Please retake the Stamp Finder whenever you like.

Ready to Discover Your Stamp?

Takes about 8 minutes. If you helped with testing, please consider trying this version and sharing feedback. While I'm holding off on major adjustments, I'm still tweaking the site for accessibility.

Find YOUR Places Stamp

What's Coming Next

This is just the framework, our foundation. Over the coming weeks, I'll dive deep into each stamp, exploring:

• How different types complement one another

• What to consider when you travel with different stampers

• How to create and seek out spaces that honor your patterns

• Why your stamp alignment evolves over time

• Ways to weave your stamp into daily life

If you haven’t already, subscribe to get the latest in your inbox!

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Your Voice Matters

This is a club for a reason. It's about building a community curious about our relationship with place and belonging.

I would love to hear:

• What places came to mind when you reviewed your stamp results?

• How does your stamp show up in your daily life?

• Any technical hiccups you encountered on the site?

Share in the comments. Your insights spark future posts and help others understand their patterns.

Thanks everyone!

Natalie

I recently had the opportunity to chat with the insightful Taylor Campbell about her Substack space, Sojourne. Our conversation expanded how I think about travel and our connections to specific places.

If you feel drawn to certain locations and are not sure why, this interview may provide answers. Taylor introduced me to astrocartography - how your birth chart connects to specific places around the world. Beyond the cosmic connections, she also shares about her customized travel guides and experiences from her intentional "lived-in" travel style.

We also talked about how timing and location work together in ways we don't often consider. Our conversation gave me so many ideas for YOUR Places Club as I build a space where you can dig into why certain locations speak to you.

Enjoy getting to know Taylor and share your thoughts below.

Thanks for being part of this club. Your curiosity about places keeps me motivated to find experts like Taylor who offer fresh perspectives.

Natalie

Life has this delightful habit of serving up change when we least expect it. One day you're cruising along, thinking you've got it all figured out, and then—BAM—job loss, empty nest, or that nagging voice whispering "there's got to be more than this."

Adjusting after a life upheaval is downright tough.

Not just emotionally, but biologically. When faced with uncertainty, our ancient brain (often called "lizard brain") kicks into overdrive, cycling through its greatest hits: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn—which for me looks more like another F: fetal or maybe flavored, curling up with two types of chips: salt-and-vinegar kettle chips and chocolate chips, because balance.

I’ve also learned so much from the autism and neurodivergent communities, which added the "flood" and "flop/fatigue" responses. These can definitely happen with excess stress. (See neuroclastic.com for a great visual and breakdown.)

Don't worry, I'm not going to nerd out about trauma-informed therapy and the most common 4 F's model. (See more from the OGs Walter Cannon and Pete Walker.) Just to say that we're literally hardwired to respond in a variety of ways. But what if picking up and traveling might be exactly what your overwhelmed nervous system needs?

So here goes, hoping I live up to the "Know yourself" part of this newsletter. Followed by the second outcome I’m going for, the "Travel better" part.

When Life Triggers Your 4-6 F's: Try these!

I’m going to stay old school with the traditional 4 F’s. And I’m keeping it on a positive, meaningful vibe.

1. Fight

What if, before you come out swinging at that life challenge, you try a perspective shift through physical distance?

How it works: Literal distance creates psychological distance. Problems that felt overwhelming at home shrink when viewed from afar. Your brain processes challenges differently when you're outside your usual surroundings. This channels fight energy into discovery and navigation.

When you need this: You're too close to a situation to see clearly, or when your "fight" response has you wanting to battle instead of stepping back to assess.

Travel approach: Go somewhere that requires significant travel time—long flights, train journeys, or road trips. The physical journey creates mental space between you and your challenge.

Stay local: Explore new neighborhoods, rock climbing gyms, escape rooms, obstacle courses, or dare I say, martial arts classes.

2. Flight

Ok, this one seems pretty easy. We take "flights" to travel. So let's move from the concrete—or perhaps symbolic—to one of self-reflection.

Therapeutic Movement & Migration

How it works: Channels the flight energy into purposeful movement, satisfying your body's need to "get away" while moving toward something meaningful.

When you need this: You have restless energy, feel physically agitated, or keep fantasizing about running away from your life.

Travel approach: Active travel that involves literal movement—walking pilgrimages, bike tours, road trips, or "slow travel" where you move between locations every few days. The journey becomes the destination, sort of thing.

Stay local: Drive to state parks, small towns, or scenic routes within 2-3 hours and return the same day. Overnight camping at nearby state parks or even backyard camping. Try going device-free while doing activities to create even more distance.

3. Freeze

With this one, celebrate the small successes.

Micro-Activation Through the Senses

How it works: Gradually awakens your frozen nervous system through small, manageable stimuli without overwhelming your already overloaded system.

When you need this: You feel numb, paralyzed by decisions, or like you're watching your life from outside your body.

Travel approach: Choose sensory-rich but low-pressure environments—spas, beaches, gardens, or places with gentle activities like art galleries, farmers markets, or hot springs.

Stay local: Botanical gardens, parks, community center pools, paint-your-own pottery studios.

4. Fawn

Let's try out some safe self-advocacy.

Boundary Practice Through Immersion

How it works: Places you in environments where saying no and advocating for yourself is necessary for navigation, providing low-stakes practice for boundary setting.

When you need this: You struggle to say no, automatically accommodate others' needs over your own, or feel guilty when prioritizing yourself.

Travel approach: Choose destinations where gentle assertiveness is required—shops where bargaining is expected, group tours where you must speak up for your needs, or cultures with different social norms that help you see your own ways.

Stay local: Solo bookstore and library outings, try a new restaurant on your own, attend a community meeting (city council, HOA, school board) and voice your opinion, fill out a survey/leave a comment at one of your favorite places.

Why Knowing Which One You Need Matters

Here's the thing: If you're seeking nervous system regulation but book an action-packed European tour, you'll likely come home feeling even more exhausted. If you need confidence-building but opt for an all-inclusive resort, you'll miss out on opportunities for mastery experiences.

The next time life hits you with a curveball and your body launches into fight, flight, freeze, fawn, or any other F, try MAPS. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself with the acronym.)

• Moment of pause: Which response(s) am I stuck in?

• Assess what your nervous system actually needs right now

• Pair your travel choice to that specific trauma response need

• Strategically escape toward intentional healing

Remember: Travel can absolutely be an escape—but let's make it an escape toward something better, not just away from something difficult. The key is knowing what need you’re trying to meet before heading into town or booking that ticket.

I hope this helps you MAP your own stress responses. Got other F's to add to the list? Drop them in the comments—the F-word is obviously covered, but I know I left some good ones out. Let's build the ultimate F-response list, shall we?

If you haven’t already, please take the YOUR Places Stamp Finder and share. Thanks for being here.

Natalie

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About six months into living on the road, I started mapping this phenomenon. I could predict which local places would become my regular spots within five minutes of walking in. I might be staying in town a week or a month, but if it was my kinda place, I would make an effort to spend as much time there as possible.

Turns out, I wasn't just being picky. I was unconsciously seeking what I now call Power Places.

The Accidental Discovery

This revelation started during what my husband calls my “European Ambition Tour.” Seven days, five countries, a new stop every night. I'd planned every sight, restaurant, and tour down to the minute. Yes, we had itineraries. Plural. I was bound to make the most of every moment of the few precious days we had to train-travel it across Europe.

How was it? Exhausting. Overwhelming. But by god, we were going to see it all.

Today, we don't remember most of the places. In fact, the duds are rising to the surface as I type this.

The Research Project He Saw Coming

So, years later, when I started plotting out our RV travels across the US, he sat me down for a heart-to-heart. NO MORE seeing all the sights as fast as we could.

Maybe age mellowed us, but I really knew I needed to stop measuring accomplishment by how much I could cram into our schedule.

Instead, I put my obsessive self to work listing every US place that had ever made me feel truly alive. My kitchen counter looked like less inspiration and more evidence board—photos, journal entries, sticky notes everywhere.

My husband walked in: “Please tell me you're not turning our lifelong dream into a research project.”

Too late.

And I’d like to report we’ve now visited pretty much all of them. I was so excited to share them with him. But, I’m sure you see where this is going. Yep, he didn’t feel the same excitement. And honestly, some weren’t what I remembered. That's when seeing the patterns in what we each craved truly took shape.

The Four Pillars That Keep Showing Up

You think I'm going to mention four mysterious pillars and then just… stop? Please. So here's the breakdown: four pillars, eight personality stamps, endless ‘aha’ moments. I'm keeping it high-level for now because nobody wants a dissertation in their inbox. Besides, the deep dive comes later when you're properly hooked.

Pillar 1: Connection & Community

Places where you belong before you even know anyone

These are spaces alive with human energy, not the overwhelming kind, but the warm, "everyone's invited to this party" kind. Think farmers' markets where vendors remember your face and that old train station that’s now your favorite restaurant.

Power Place example: That little café in Paris where the owner started saving you croissants after day two, and that Savannah ghost tour you’ve been on more than once.

At home: Your kitchen during dinner parties, vintage clothing shops, that historic B&B you love driving by, or even your front porch where neighbors actually stop to chat.

Pillar 2: Growth & Transformation

Places that lend to your evolution

These places seem designed to crack you open in the best possible way. They challenge you, heal you, or help you remember who you're becoming. These aren't necessarily comfortable places. They're often places where transformation feels possible.

Power Place example: That clifftop retreat in Big Sur where you perfected your favorite breathing techniques, or Sedona where you soaked up that red rock energy.

At home: Your home creative projects space, the yoga studio when you get down a new pose, or your shower where all the best ideas happen (shower wisdom is real, people).

Pillar 3: Adventure & Exploration

Places that wake up your sense of wonder

Whether it's a river rafting trip or Tacofest, these places remind you that the world is vast and full of surprises. They could be ziplines that test your limits or hidden gems that you give a try.

Power Place example: That Olympic Peninsula rainforest where you pushed yourself to go one more mile, or the New Orleans Jazz Festival where you got lost and loved it.

At home: Your local walking path where seasons change everything, the part of town you're still exploring, or even your garden where something's always growing or surprising you.

Pillar 4: Knowledge & Experience

Places that feed your curiosity and senses

These are destinations for your mind and all your senses. They likely teach you something new, challenge your perspective, or simply delight. They range from intellectually stimulating to purely beautiful.

Power Place example: Taking in the blue-domed churches in Santorini at sunset, exploring Kilkenny Castle until you knew every restored Victorian room by heart.

At home: Your reading nook with perfect lighting, the art district you love wandering, or that one restaurant where you try a new dish every time.

Why Knowing Your Travel Self Matters

Here's what I've realized from years of watching people (including myself) struggle with travel disappointment and daily burnout: we're seeking some form of these pillars everywhere, but we rarely know what we are actually looking for.

So don’t be the “need a vacation from your vacation” person who comes back more exhausted than when you left.

The magic happens when you start intentionally seeking out the places that I really hope these pillars and personality stamps help you discover.

One more thing…

The YOUR Places stamp that calls to you may change. Sometimes you're a Growth & Transformation seeker. Other times, you desperately need Connection & Community. The goal isn't to pick one stamp forever—it's to know which one your soul is craving right now.

FIND YOUR STAMP HERE

What places make you feel most alive? I'd love to hear about your Power Places and which stamp you most align with. I'm always on the lookout for what makes places magical.

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As a therapist who's spent years traveling and studying human behavior, I've discovered that the places that heal us aren't random. They fit our personalities.

Are We Traveling Wrong?

What if we're following other people's "must-see" lists instead of asking what WE actually need?

Any of us can visit a place and mark it off our "been there, done that" list. But how many places can we really say connected with us at a deeper level?

Why? Maybe it's our headspace when we were there, or maybe we've gotten to the point where travel is just one more thing to consume. I have a bad habit of gobbling my food. I could be at the fanciest restaurant, and my plate's empty before I've tasted anything.

This is like the difference between sucking down a domestic beer and savoring an aged whiskey. Both are great and have their place.

I want you to think of this as the 18-year old single malt scotch of travel assessments. It's not about the journey TO the place—it's about your journey IN the place. What is it about that place that means something to you? Does it change you or reinforce who you are? Did you feel at home immediately, or did it surprise you?

Here's my point: ANY place can be YOUR place when you know what speaks to you.

The Travel Stress Epidemic

I'm sure you've heard about (or experienced) this: couples returning from their "dream vacation" more stressed than when they left. Families spending thousands to be miserable together in paradise. Solo travelers forcing themselves to love experiences that drain them.

I know there are places out there that would restore these people—places that would strengthen their relationships rather than strain them, places that would leave them feeling more like themselves, not less.

The Pattern I Couldn't Unsee

This realization hit me during my own travels. My husband and I joke about it now (though it wasn't always funny). When we remember places—hell, even in the car afterwards—we saw completely different things. The same places meant totally different things to each of us.

My therapist brain says this makes perfect sense. My wife brain… well, that depends on the day.

But my analyst brain (how many brains am I up to?) couldn't help but notice the patterns everywhere and went into hyperdrive, grouping the types of travelers I was seeing.

Perfect example: Venice, Italy. If you've been, you know you need to be okay getting lost in crazy spaces that take you everywhere and nowhere at all. My husband and I went years into our marriage with our teamwork system well-honed.

What became clear quickly was seeing the couples who were NOT in such a place. They were paused at bridges with that deer-in-headlights look, pointing in different directions and clearly not on the same page.

The hotel became my perfect social experiment. I met three newlywed couples at the lovely breakfast spread—all optimistic and "in love," ready for their day. By happy hour, I saw the results: one couple with only the husband at the bar, another couple at a table not talking to each other, and the third couple nearby laughing and connecting.

Maybe Venice should come with a warning: "Only go if you're ready for navigational challenges and potential arguments with loved ones."

Same place. Completely different impact on mental health and relationships.

Your Travel Personality Matters

Here's what I've learned: we all have a travel personality that, when honored, can be deeply healing. When ignored, travel becomes just another source of stress.

Some people need solitude to recharge—but they keep booking group tours. Others crave human connection—but they keep choosing isolated retreats. Some need intellectual stimulation—but they keep following Instagram to "relaxing" beaches.

The Solution: YOUR Places Stamp

This is why I created Your Places Stamp. It's a tool designed with therapeutic principles to help you understand:

• What environments restore you

• How to choose destinations that strengthen relationships

• Why certain places feel like home

• How to travel in a way that serves your well-being

I've refined it from 53 scattered questions down to 16 that identify the most crucial characteristics. Eight distinct types have emerged from my observations of how different personalities interact with place.

I Need Your Help

There's still fine-tuning needed to meet my assessment standards, so I'm asking for your assistance. Please take this quiz with an open mind and soft heart. But once you get your results, bring out your toughest critic to make it better.

FIND YOUR PLACES STAMP

Join the YOUR Places Club

If you've ever felt frustrated by travel that didn't deliver what you hoped, or if you suspect there are places out there that would heal you in ways you haven't experienced yet, I want to help you find them.

Take the assessment. Discover your type. Then let's explore together how intentional travel can become a powerful tool for your health and relationships.

Because somewhere out there is a place that will choose you back. Let's find it!

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Find Your Stamp HERE

What's Another Assessment Got to Do with Travel?

I'm a little obsessed with assessments. I've tested, administered, and taken more than I care to count over the years. So I thought I'd take that know-how and mash it up with my travel experience and therapist brain to create something that gets at WHY certain places call to us.

When people ask about my favorite places, I usually say something social-worker-ish like "every place has something special about it." They roll their eyes, but it's true for me, because of what I know about myself and how I look for opportunities and powerful experiences.

True for you?

There are also places I've loved so much, but when I return, the magic's gone. Why?

It likely has more to do with how I've changed than how the place has. Which got me paying more attention to why and what I look for in a place. Which led me to notice the same in travel with my loved ones and then to notice how strangers around me were taking in the same place.

Well, and then my assessor brain butted in and I couldn't stop looking for patterns and trends in human behavior and thus YOUR Place Stamps were born.

What This Assessment Is (and Isn't)

What it's NOT: A wholly accurate identifier of you. Most assessments are designed to identify patterns based on common tendencies. Yes, some of which are stereotypical. This one is far from scientifically rigorous. My statistician friends, please be gentle. Reliability and validity are TBD.

What it IS based on: Four pillars (okay, 8 disguised as 4) that I've found to be true in my work with humans and time observing humans in travel-like states:

1. Connection & Community

2. Growth & Transformation

3. Adventure & Exploration

4. Knowledge & Experience

There’s more to come on this, but for now I hope you get the gist.

Why 8 Stamps?

Short answer: The 17 I started with were all over the place.

I began with types ranging from foodies to shoppers to sports fans, but they weren't discrete enough to hold up to the rigors I put them through. After tinkering and testing, these eight seem to be holding up…so far.

So, sorry if you don't see your exact favorite activity in the descriptions. I'm excited we'll dive into specifics at the YOUR Places Club.

Why 16 Questions?

Same short answer: The 58 I started with were all over the place.

I'm all for "no stupid ideas" during brainstorming, but "what if you could only eat purple food while traveling?" wasn't going to help anybody. These sixteen seem to be doing the job of sorting out the most crucial characteristics.

Here's Where I Need You

I need your help making sure these eight stamps are the final types. If you haven't already, please take the quiz. Then let me know through the survey link or chat, email, or postcard from your current location (bonus points for terrible tourist photos). I want to know what you think about any of it - the formatting, the questions, the types.

I'm eager for your feedback. “Continuous improvement,” as my Pops always said.

Take the YOUR Place Stamp QUIZ

What's In It For You?

Early access to the YOUR Place Club.

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PLEASE OH PLEASE TAKE THE QUIZ!