Oh, the Places I Will Go

Mojia Shen
2 min readSep 14, 2020

Micro-experiments for a fulfilling life

Photo by ian dooley on Unsplash

A combination of the lockdown and life being relatively stable makes me itch for inspirations. The funny thing is I have been at my current job for 1.5 years, which is exactly the longest consecutive duration I have stayed in college before taking time off for Mexico and the UK. The same desire of exploring the unknown and fantasizing what life could be swelled up again.

After a three-month quarter-life exploration, I realized that soul-searching doesn’t mean I need to quit my job and radically consider a different career path. It might just mean that my body and mind are asking me to seek balance in my current life: a balance of consistency and variety, exploitation and exploration, earning-a-living and pursuing-my-dream.

This brings me to this current thinking of running micro-experiments while keeping the structure of my life mostly intact. This might be especially great for me, being an immigrant in the US. It could take the form of taking half a year off post COVID to explore 1–2 options in the list below, or pursue one option every year by taking 3 months off. I have not thought through the logistics, but by time-boxing such experiences, I can explore and live to the fullest without compromising on stability and safety, both of which hold tremendous value for me.

There are three themes that I desire to explore:

  • Food & nourishment: I recently had the idea to open a breakfast-bar/tea-house/coffeeshop/second-hand bookstore that promotes veganism, slow-eating, eating-alone, mindful-eating, and self-love. I’d love to develop the concept further.
  • Spiritual enlightenment: I have talked enough about this :)
  • Eco-living: I want to further connect with nature, pursue veganism, and zero-waste.

Here is a list of experiences I’d love to try out for 3 months at a time:

  1. Florence/Dolce Vita, Italy, culinary school
  2. Kyoto, Japan, meditation
  3. Lhasa, Tibet, meditation
  4. Rishikesh/Haridwar, India, meditation
  5. Bali, Indonesia, meditation (need to stay longer this time!)
  6. Costa Rica, eco-living
  7. New Zealand, eco-living
  8. Norway/Sweden, eco-living
  9. Amsterdam, eco-living

Let me know if you have recommendations for places or experiences that could inspire me to live wholeheartedly!

Photo by Davies Designs Studio on Unsplash

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