Taking Time
Posted by Tabitha Yeasley
We spent almost a month traveling through Croatia, from the Southern coast of tourism-ridden Dubrovnik, through beautiful, welcoming Split, and up to the capital city of Zagreb. While the rest of Europe that lies within the Schengen Zone can feel like a ticking clock until we have to leave, Croatia afforded us the time to slow down.
Back in Lyon, we met a man named Gabriel at a bar called “La Paz.” When we told him what we were doing in Europe, he went on a 5-beers-in-at-3pm rant about how important it is to “take time.” He said, “Take time for what matters. Jobs don't matter. Money doesn't matter. Happiness matters. Take time for happiness. Take time.” Michael and I smiled at each other because that’s exactly what we were doing, taking time for what matters, for experiences, for life. The trivial things in life have a way of sneaking up on you and demanding your attention, but you have to be deliberate about how you use the time you’ve been given. Find what you love to struggle for, and live it. Someone very wise once lamented to me that it’s sad, so sad, how temporary this all is, and how many people just don’t get it. I think we will always carry with us that reminder from La Paz as we move forward – together, and intentionally.
Croatia granted us the ability to rest and recharge after two months of continuous travel. It gave us beauty, and experiences. And it gave us amazing content and opportunity to produce. We made hotel videos for two beautiful hotels that gave us complimentary stays in return. We provided content for our Sponsors. And we took some awesome photos to share with the folks back home. We sailed around the Adriatic Sea. We wined and dined in the Dalmatian vineyards. We explored very old Fortresses. We discovered more waterfalls than I can count in National Parks KRKA and Plitivice Lakes. And Zagreb’s spirited Advent celebrations let us catch Michael’s audition for the Ice Capades on film.
Last but not least, consider this our Christmas card from us to you. The world is a scary place these days, but we hope that a little more light and love reaches you this season from our corner of the earth. And we hope you take time for what matters to you.
This trip has taught us nothing if not to be intentional. With our lives, and in the way we see and love, both ourselves and others. Our belief that there is so much world left to see and explore has only been confirmed. We’ve still got a few more weeks until our Visa expires, which we're spending here in Spain. But we’re not done. Now that the travel bug has taken hold, it looks like we’re stuck with the wanderlust for life. After this we’ll go home, we’ll settle down for a while. But we’ll be planning, and dreaming, of what’s next.