Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/13061
LONGBEACHMAGAZINE.COM 49 our soul. Intangible, yet so profound, these changes are ones that I hope to last well beyond our years. From the awe and majesty of the pyramids in Giza, to the prolific nature of Borneo's National Forests, I'd be lying to say that I have not taken something from each and every place I have visited. Something intangible, but true. Something that has made me a better, more appreciative, and more driven individual. A grit that lies deep, that I know I have access to when the occasion demands it. Indeed, foreign travel has given, and continues to give, my wife and I so much understanding, humility, happiness and true, life-forming experience. Therefore, it is without hesitation that travel is something that I implore everyone to engage in sooner rather than later. Be it a week-long tour or a lengthy sabbatical, there is simply no documentary, no IMAX cinema feature, nor any book, that can stimulate the mind, the senses and the soul like a completely foreign expedition can. Life is indeed short. Get out of your comfort zone, relish in the unknown of digging into an exotic dish, learn something about yourself over the daily haggle for a quart of milk and ignite the smiles of dozens once you learn a few words of the local slang. Your mind, your body, and your soul, will be forever enriched by the experience. n Visit Christian and Shelby's blog at footprintproject.tumblr.com to continue following their travels. Photos courtesy of Christian & Shelby Lane-Brown. To pass through here and live and breathe in the sheer beauty of just one sun-drenched day across the Himalayas made every aching muscle, every light-headed and oxygen deprived blistered step, seem trivial. Nepal was a mind-changing experience, I am grateful to have been a guest in this country for a month. We learned a lot about the people, the land, and about ourselves. Tolerance, capabilities, and — above all, gratitude. Our individual, and joint, mental fortitude has exponentially improved from the adventure. The final and most lasting area of growth during this voyage so far has been that of THE GREAT PYRAMIDS, EGYPT JEMELUK BEACH, INDONESIA