"Somewhere… something incredible is waiting to be known" - Carl Sagan

On my first ever trip to Australia, a fellow traveler told me he drove the train at Busch Gardens in Virginia. He swore he had the best job in the world. The upturned corners of his mouth could have told you this - but he literally glowed when sharing what a privilege it was to help be a part of the happiness of others. He worked to travel and both brought him immense joy. That trip unlocked more than a first step to the other side of the world. 

It opened possibilities I never even knew existed. 

That magic, the joy of the journey evoked that wonderful sense of maybe, squeezing the smothering anxiety out of what ifs and spinning it into a sparkly “why not?” 

That mindset shift alone is priceless. 

It’s nearly summer, a breeding ground of possibility. The season of long light and firefly-seeking, freedom from strict schedules, and a time where the possibility of hearing the ice cream truck jingle is enough to make any young at heart human glow with joy. 

Nature, people, treats, and that vacation that might actually just happen this time - it all glistens with that magic of possibility - and that alone, is often enough to sustain us in times of uncertainty. 

At this moment, there’s both uncertainty and possibility…sparks from their clash witnessed in the halls of every school, bantered about at teenage meetups, and whispered around backyard barbecues complete with ceremonial and celebratory banners. 

It’s June, a time when a space that might have brought comfort offers hugs of goodbyes and graduations and that leap to what comes next is filled with unknowns, angst, energy, and possibilities. Schools fling open doors to students who just leveled up a grade, and summer camps open theirs to campers clamoring with nervous excitement for what that experience holds. It’s all there: a tinderbox of uncertainty, choices, risks, chances, and a whole lot of might happens.

It’s June…without knowing the ending, it sure is the start of something.

A friend of mine books travel adventures as far in the future as the hospitality industry will allow. She says it’s for financial prudence (you know, the fact that she pays for it before she gets there with that feeling that ‘it’s free’ once it arrives), but I believe it’s for a whole different reason altogether. She gets to believe in the possibilities of that journey for months on end: dreaming, planning, wondering, celebrating that magic of maybe, allowing the possibilities to gobble her up in their warm embrace. Everywhere she looks, an idea pops in elevating the enchantment of the entire event. She gets to experience those fizzles of electric energy in the preceding months as well as the memory long after it’s finished. 

Possibilities breed electricity. 

Imagine, for a moment, if Thomas Edison had tried and tried and given up well before finding the light. What kind of world would it be if Willy Wonka had been deterred by Slugworth’s quest to squash his chocolate-making majesty? If scientists saw mold in a jar and shrugged, “well, we tried,” we’d never have a shot at the miracles of modern medicine. Today’s world of social reels and stories often show us the highlights, the end result, the celebration of the launch of the product. 

Ever wonder about the backstory? 

For just a moment, consider all the stuff that went into that lightbulb, bottle of penicillin, or that everlasting gobstopper. The naysayers screamed and they kept showing up. The flaws and missteps happened, finances flopped, yet they tried again. The first, second, and perhaps thousandth time it didn’t work, until it did. I have no idea how the rides at Disneyland work, yet I imagine it took a whole team of engineers, designers, scientists, and dreamers to ensure that each time I ride Space Mountain I return safely to where I began. Imagine how many trials that took, and then if you can imagine that, consider just how long it took to get to where we are today in the world of space discovery, surgical techniques, or holding a computer in the palm of your hand that you might use to play Wordle but can truly do so much more.

Everywhere we look, we’re met with a mindful choice. 

We can focus on the ick, angst, catastrophe, and discord that litter our social feeds and snag newspaper covers, or we can choose to see possibility, grace, gratitude, empathy, compassion, and magic in those in-between spaces. 

The world gives us daily reasons to hide in our pillow forts. It’s up to us to be the changemakers, greet the day with a nod towards positive nudges, show up again just like those dreamers, and vow to give it another shot. 

Perhaps possibility is the antidote we need - one positioned to open our noggins to the good kind of maybes, the excitement of the why not, and the idea that if cauliflower can become pizza, we, too, can do anything.

Zillions of graduates from nursery to university are treated to the words of Dr. Seuss’ Oh the Places You’ll Go. Its words capture the nerves of leaping and the excitement that goes alongside. It reminds us to strive with the desire to thrive, to be proud of your continuing journey, and to fling open the doors to potential and possibility even amidst the noisy naysayers, clamoring of conscience, and nudges of the Universe to be afraid and go for it anyway. It tells us it won’t be easy all the time, the cheer squad might come from weird spaces including the depths of our own minds, and our story will take more twists and turns than we might imagine…but oh what a ride we can go on if only we allow ourselves a chance to risk it all.    

The television made its arrival in homes nearly three-quarters of a century ago, yet today we stream multiple platforms at once from wherever we roam. Modern day marvels of a sub-2 hour marathon never seemed possible until Eliud Kipchoge recently showed it was, and tons of school kids no longer wait months on end for their pen pal letters delivered by snail mail, instead video chatting with them while some navigational signal pings across the miles to connect one side of the world instantaneously with another. 

Everyday things were once possibilities, dreams, or ideas planted in someone and through tireless trials, errors, glitches, and discoveries, many now take them for granted as ordinary. 

Some had a huge cheering section like those family and friends who fill stands at a pee-wee soccer game. Some had to fight an uphill battle traversing minefields of obstacles to reach their heights. Some started with privilege, while others were stifled by baggage not of their own making. 

Whether your cheer squad and full-scale belief comes from strangers, friends, family of your own or one of choice, the digital world, a wider community, or deep down from your inner voice, you’ve got this…and whether you know it or not, we’ve got you. 

As your journey continues on its twists and turns, chapters close and open, and what was once comfortable or fixed perhaps a bit messy and filled with growth, know that the world is yours for the taking, your dreams are worthy and valid, and your talent, resilience, and strengths will help you soar along the way. 

Believe it is and truly, anything is possible.

See you out there. 

“While you’re still alive, live” - Still, REDWOOD

Tips to ignite a mindset of endless possibilities

“When you have exhausted all the possibilities, remember this - you haven’t” - Thomas Edison

Be on the lookout for joy

“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it” - Roald Dahl

Positive psychologists have been researching joy, awe, resilience, strengths, and the medical and wellness benefits of positive emotions for decades. 

Follow the genius of Martin Seligman, Laurie Santos, Martha Beck, Blue Zones centenarians, or any number of flourishing seekers and you’ll hear about the medicinal and life-changing properties of honing your meaning, purpose, and mindful skills. These lifestyle changes are in reach for all of us. Just this week, one of NBC’s most recently retired leading morning show hosts launched her own platform to help us regular humans do just that, be on the lookout for joy.

With the launch of her app, Joy101, this television personality aims to provide access to the benefits of joy seeking to anyone who ever wondered what the heck it is. In her sixth decade, after various adventures, she’s channeling her skills into a new venture. It is one that might help others cultivate and reap the rewards she and many others already know: that joy is infectious, a game changer, and taps or reawakens the fire of possibility in each of us. 

Whether you choose a mindful podcast, course, article, practitioner, or breathwork medium, this flip of the script will use what you already know to enhance who you already are. Whatever avenue, remember to be on the lookout for joy and notice your awareness open to endless possibilities. 

Open your eyes to wonder and awe

“When you become comfortable with uncertainty, infinite possibilities open up in your life” - Eckhart Tolle

Today there are multiple methods to watch our favourite shows. You don’t even have to know an in-real-life scientist or researcher, it’s easy enough to channel your favourite crime or medical drama to know that any researcher will often tell you, “it’s possible.” Law & Order forensic experts, when called to the stand and questioned, will often hold fast to the fact that ‘it’s possible’ to find evidence of whatever it is they’re being asked. 

Whether artist, poet, musician, culinary genius, or science expert, the art of keeping our eyes open to wonder and awe helps to open the vessels of the mind to what’s possible. 

That type of maybe infiltrates every facet of our world. It allows us to notice and see with the mind’s eye and a gentle heart, it facilitates a flexible and solution-focused mindset, and helps us to release a hold on that black and white thinking enabling more options, choices, views, and wisdom to enter our brain space. 

Some go for awe walks to notice and focus, elevating positive emotions and shifting their perspective. Some practice the Japanese art of Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) to ditch the everyday noise and digital malaise and let nature re-energize the soul. 

Whether you channel the wisdom of eastern philosophies or sports mantras like that from legendary coach, John Wooden’s “don’t let what you can’t do stop you from doing what you can,” taking advantage of that which builds your character, eases our nerves, and invites that awe and wonder will raise your ability to see what’s possible in your path or offer the courage to chart a new one. 

Believe it’s possible and you’re halfway there

“It always seems impossible until it’s done” - Nelson Mandela

Any visit to Cirque du Soleil comes complete with eye-popping moments. Acrobats flip, float, and fly through the air, capturing the attention of audience members under their big top. We watch with awe as their strength, talent, and skill transform a weeknight evening into one filled with magic. We think, “they can’t do that,” and then, right before our eyes, they do. Flawlessly orchestrating risky moves with artistry and grace, seemingly defying all laws of logic and physics, we’re taken for a ride on the highwire of possibility. 

Like the teetering toes of those awaiting the trapeze, The Top Five Regrets of The Dying by Bonnie Ware reminds every reader that time is of the essence. 

No utterances of status or stuff, the confessions speak volumes to grab life by the reins and have the courage to go after your dreams. These dreams and ideas are placed in your heart for a reason; if it’s something you wish to pursue, it will continue to poke you time and time again until you listen. It doesn’t have to seem logical to anyone else, it doesn’t have to make sense at all, but it’s possible that every bump or hiccup or fabulous find is far greater than any wonder or what if. You don’t have to start a multibillion-dollar company from a garage to make it worthwhile - but just like the millions who gather beneath Cinderella’s castle nightly to fervently clap so a tiny fairy can fly across the night’s sky, if you believe it’s possible, you’re halfway there. 

Begin again every single day

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’" - Audrey Hepburn

I can count on one hand the number of adult humans who are living the story they wrote in their high school yearbook. Sure, there are few who realized a dream in university and it came to fruition, but most are on their second, third, or tenth version of their own story recreating many times along the way. 

Whether you follow mindfulness gurus, have a personal coach, or your best friend finally got that sourdough business off the ground, you’ve heard of reinvention and perhaps even manifested it for yourself. Everywhere you look, there’s a sports figure who shifted course and opened their own company, a teacher who changed roles and now writes and coaches beyond the classroom, or a nurse who traded in the scrubs to motivate women at midlife to change their stars. 

Begin again isn’t only a mindfulness technique practiced by the likes of Jack Kornfeld or Jay Shetty. It’s a call to action, a daily challenge, or a Mel Robbins kind of tough love reminder that you’re the only one who is coming to change your story. Whether your platform is filled with thousands on social media or that teacher who believed in you when you were young (and trust me, it never waned), reinvention is at your fingertips, if only you believe it’s possible. 

It might be filled with wobbles and a whole lot of what ifs, but the journey to the other side of that wonder is what matters. 

Go get ‘em. 

Please click the photo below for a collection of my Through the Eyes of an Educator columns:

Stacey Ebert, our Educational Travels Editor, is a traveler at heart who met her Australian-born husband while on a trip in New Zealand. Stacey was an extracurricular advisor and taught history in a Long Island public high school for over fifteen years, enjoying both the formal and informal educational practices. After a one year 'round the world honeymoon, travel and its many gifts changed her perspective. She has since left the educational world to focus on writing and travel. She is energetic and enthusiastic about long term travel, finding what makes you happy and making the leap. In her spare time she is an event planner, yogi, dark chocolate lover, and spends as much time as possible with her toes in the sand.

Check out her website at thegiftoftravel.wordpress.com for more of her travel musings.