We All Need a Quest

A couple of months ago, in June, I spent a day at Tintagel in Cornwall - a place surrounded by the legends of King Arthur.

I filmed a video while I was there, and today I’ve finally released it on YouTube.

Stunning scenery and beautiful shots filmed by Sara Pozzoli.

It got me thinking about something I’ve been exploring for a while:

Not necessarily a quest for the Holy Grail, or an epic adventure, or a journey to the other side of the world.

Although… perhaps there’s something in that.

There is something about leaving the familiar, entering a different landscape, slowing down, and not quite knowing what is going to happen next.

Something happens when we do that.

We become more available to ourselves.

Perhaps that’s part of what the Arthurian stories have kept alive for so many centuries: the idea that we need to leave the safety of the known and venture into the unknown.

Because ultimately, the quest isn’t really about finding something out there.

It’s about meeting ourselves.

Finding something we’ve forgotten.

Opening up.

Becoming a little more alive.

And there are places that help us do this.

Tintagel is one of them.

But there are many others.

A forest.

A mountain.

A pilgrimage route.

A foreign country.

Sometimes even a piece of land where life moves at a different pace.

And it’s another little piece of the puzzle I’m putting together through Vibrant Elderhood.

But here’s the thing:

You can read about a quest. You can watch videos about quests. You can listen to other people’s stories.

But you don’t really understand it until you go on one.

And you can go on a quest by yourself.

Or you can go on one with other people.

This is a big part of what I’m trying to create.

You can come and stay with us on the land in Italy for ten days, or three weeks.

Life here is simple. We have computers and modern technology, of course, but we live very differently from the city.

We walk. We grow food. We spend time outside. We cook together. We talk.

And something happens when people step out of their normal environment.

The pace changes.

People start noticing things.

Conversations become deeper.

Someone sees something in the woods, and suddenly we’re all standing there.

Sometimes we stop and meditate.

Not because it was on the schedule.

Just because it feels like the right thing to do.

And it’s also why I’m so excited about our journey to India from 10–31 January.

I think it may be the most profound quest I can offer right now.

Not a holiday.

Not a sightseeing tour.

A journey.

A chance to step out of the familiar and spend three weeks exploring India, meeting other people, having deep conversations, playing, walking, meditating, laughing, and perhaps most importantly, meeting yourself again.

Who is it for?

Someone who feels called to go deeper.

Someone who wants to explore themselves rather than simply escape themselves.

Someone who enjoys being with other people, having real conversations, and allowing a journey to unfold rather than controlling every moment of it.

Someone willing to slow down.

Because slowing down is harder than it sounds.

I hear people talk about the Camino de Santiago all the time.

It’s beautiful, but increasingly busy and crowded in the popular seasons.

And there’s something interesting about deliberately choosing a quieter time to travel.

Our India journey takes place from 10–31 January, just after the Christmas and New Year rush, when the crowds have thinned and the country is beginning to breathe again.

That’s precisely part of the challenge.

It’s quieter.

We’re not adding to peak-season mass tourism.

We have more opportunity to connect with local communities.

But it also asks something of us.

It asks us to make the time.

And perhaps that’s what a quest does.

It asks something of us.

It takes us beyond comfort.

It gives us uncertainty, wonder, challenge and possibility.

And if we allow it to, it changes us.

So I’m curious:

Maybe you don’t need to come to India.

Maybe your quest is waiting five minutes from your front door.

But perhaps it’s time to stop asking only:

What should I do with my time?

And start asking:

What is calling me forward?

🎥 Watch my new Vibrant Elderhood video from Tintagel: