Summer Interlude: Don't Just Exist. Live.

Last night I came across this quote: "You can't give your life more time. So give the time you have more life." It stayed with me all through the night and today I just had to write about it. Maybe because we're in the middle of another STEAM in the PARK season. Maybe because Steve and I have spent the last two weeks surrounded by educators who have traveled from all over the country to learn, laugh, reflect, and reconnect with the reasons they do what they do. Or maybe it's because the older I get, the more I realize that life moves a lot faster than I once thought it would.

I find myself thinking often about what really matters. Not the things that seem important in the moment. Not the headlines. Not the arguments. Not the things that keep us distracted from one another. I mean the things that remain when everything else is stripped away. Relationships. Kindness. Purpose. The people we love. The difference we make while we're here.

When Steve and I started Expeditions in Education, we weren't just thinking about lessons or field trips or national parks. We were thinking about people. We were thinking about the teachers who pour everything they have into their students and often wonder if anyone notices. We were thinking about kids who need opportunities to discover that they belong in science, in history, in art, in nature, and in this world. We were thinking about creating spaces where people could gather, learn from one another, and leave feeling a little more hopeful than when they arrived.

People often see the camps, the livestreams, the school visits, the lesson plans, and the adventures. Those things are certainly part of what we do, but they aren't really the point. The point has always been people.

We believe that when you encourage an educator, you impact hundreds of students. When you help a student discover wonder, confidence, or belonging, you change the trajectory of a life. When you bring good people together around a campfire, on a trail, or in a classroom, something beautiful happens. Walls come down. Stories get shared. New ideas emerge. Hearts soften. Hope grows.
And goodness knows we need more hope right now.

When I look at our grandchildren, I don't spend much time wondering what kind of technology they'll have or what jobs they'll hold. I wonder what kind of world they'll inherit. Will it be a world where people know how to listen? Will it be a world where compassion matters? Will it be a world where we see one another as neighbors instead of opponents? Will it be a world where curiosity wins over fear?

I hope so.

And I believe those things don't happen because of one big moment. They happen because ordinary people make ordinary choices every day. A teacher chooses to encourage a struggling student. A ranger shares a story that helps someone see a place differently. A volunteer gives their time. A parent shows up. A friend listens. Someone decides that building bridges is more important than building walls.

The truth is, none of us know how much time we've been given. We just know we've been given today. And today feels like enough reason to choose kindness, enough reason to invest in people, enough reason to leave a place a little better than we found it.

Steve and I often talk about the fact that we are not really in the education business. We are in the people business. Education just happens to be the vehicle. Every camp, every livestream, every mile traveled, every conversation around a campfire is our small attempt to help create a world with a little more empathy, a little more compassion, and a little more understanding.

Maybe that's why I couldn't shake that quote last night. It reminded me that a meaningful life isn't measured by how much we accumulate. It's measured by how much we give away. By the people we've encouraged. By the hope we've shared. By the lives we've touched. By whether the world is a little brighter because we spent some time in it.

That's the kind of life Steve and I want to live. And that's the kind of world we hope we're helping build together.

Don't just exist.
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Live.