The Happy End(ing)
The Happy End(ing)
The Happy Ending…
“of the World”
The idea of taking a year off to travel through South America was born from an instinct Karl had soon after we got married.
I was gearing up to finish my master’s degree and start a new career. He was nearing 15 years with a company that was shifting direction.
For Karl, this journey felt like the birth of a calling. For me, it carried the weight of a miscarriage—something gained and something lost. But nearly 50 years of his life had led to this monumental moment. He had supported my own callings for years, and I knew in my heart I wanted to support his.
So we pressed pause and set out together on a collaborative journey of self-exploration—seeking adventure, searching for clarity about the kind of life we wanted to build, and aiming to drive to the southernmost point of South America, Ushuaia, otherwise known as “the end of the world.”
One of the big questions we wrestled with along the way was this: How do we live a quality life—pursuing our passions, contributing to the greater good—without sacrificing one for the other? And what does “quality life” even mean? Where’s the line between simplifying and sacrificing?
To many, traveling for over a year sounds long. It felt long to us too—until we met overlanders who had been traveling far longer, some indefinitely. Many were retired, living out of vehicles or on small fixed incomes. Others had sold everything to make this life possible. Privilege—and the lack of it—became glaringly obvious. Retirement, at least in the Western sense, seemed a fading luxury, available to only a few. And most of the world? They were working themselves to exhaustion just to survive, many without any options, let alone the chance to travel.
One of my biggest takeaways from this trip was learning to step back from my own projections. My perspective is narrow, shaped only by my experience. I can’t assume I know someone else’s story. I can’t save the world. At best, I can be present, curious, and willing to learn.
Another lesson was understanding the difference between sacrifice and trade-off. A sacrifice is losing something. A trade-off is making a choice for something else. They often look the same, but perspective changes everything. We met overlanders who gladly traded jobs without meaning for the freedom to chase a life that lit them up. Others left stability behind in search of passion, only to realize over time that they missed family, friends, and routines. As one traveler put it, “It can feel like a series of one-night stands—you kiss and tell through Instagram, then leave in the morning.”
…of the World
For me the trade-off was freedom, adventure, and travel — and seeing Karl alive with happiness, plus spending quality time together building our lives was the most impactful and meaningful. But without a sense of direction, even freedom can become formless. For me, that eventually turned into boredom, followed by a quiet kind of depression—a neglected purpose left wandering.
Every story, road, and circumstance carries pros and cons. What feels ideal to one person may not to another. The beauty of pros and cons is that they bring contrast. They help us see what we have, clarify what’s most important, and guide us toward balance.
The truth is, the grass is never greener on the other side. Every time we jump the fence, we eventually find ourselves thinking the same cow thoughts: wishing we were in another pasture, or back in the one we left. We can’t be in two pastures at once. We can’t have our grass and eat it too. But we can water where we are.
No words can fully express the gratitude we feel for this journey—the ground we covered, the obstacles we overcame, the people and cultures we met, the adventures we shared. The greatest treasure wasn’t the places we visited, but the deeper bond we built with ourselves, each other, and this planet.
Did we find the answers we packed with us as we drove to the end of the world? One thing’s certain: we know more clearly now what makes our hearts beat, what gives us a pulse, what lights us up inside and outside of our love for each other. We dusted off our old road map, updated it to a newer version, and committed to leaving no stone unturned as we navigate this big adventure called life.
Sometimes it takes driving to the end of the world to understand what the heart already knows—but what the head can only grasp through experience. And sometimes, it takes that drive to inspire a website and a blog about it.
Gracefully yours,
The Happy End(ing) of the World
“Mystery is not about traveling to new places. It’s about looking with new eyes.” — Esther Perel
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