Spread Love and Joy

“Diga 'Sim,' sorria e viva as melhores, mais loucas e incríveis experiências que esse mundo oferece”

About This Journal

I’m solo traveling with a journal, and I ask everyone I connect with to write a piece of life advice in it. No prompts, no guidelines. Whatever comes from within, on the spot.

So far, people from Thailand, Argentina, Italy, Puerto Rico, South Africa, the US, China, Laos, Canada, Russia, Spain, Vietnam, Germany, Chile, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Brazil, Colombia, New Zealand, and the UK have written in it.

10 different languages.

Ages ranging from 18 to 73.

This is the coolest souvenir I’ll ever collect, and I want to share it with you.

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Ken Junior | 27 | Brazil

I met Ken on my very first day in Siargao, Philippines, at the world-famous skate street. He was out there skating and spinning a dapo star, while I walked around taking photos of everyone. So beautiful faces were captured that night. You can see the full set here.

That night of photos is actually how I made so many friends on day one. I shared the shots with everyone I had captured, Ken included, and I was quickly adopted into a group of Brazilian solo travelers. We surfed and explored during the day and went out together at night. Ken and I put down a lot of soju in Siargao.

I left Siargao sooner than expected for an excursion in Palawan, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be the last time I saw him. Some people you just know are going to stay in your life.

This is what he wrote.

“Acho que você já segue, mas diga ‘Sim’, sorria e viva as melhores, mais loucas e incríveis experiências que esse mundo oferece. Espalhe amor e alegria.

Very nice to met u bro!

— Ken (27), Brasil”

English Translation

"I think you already do this, but say 'Yes,' smile, and live the best, craziest, and most incredible experiences this world has to offer. Spread love and joy."

After Thoughts

Fast forward to June. Ken and I are now neighbors in Lombok, Indonesia. I was sitting here writing this exact post about him when there was a knock at my door. I opened it, and there he was, with the same smile. :)

Ken is the epitome of spreading love and joy. I have never once seen him without a smile on his face. He is the life of the party, and he walks down the street smiling for no reason at all. Some people look at him funny for it. The real ones smile back.

He told me that's exactly how he knew we would be friends. He said I had a big smile on my face the entire time at Skate Street that night in Siargao, months before either of us knew we'd end up living at the same homestay in a completely different country.

That’s my life advice. Smile at someone today. You have more power than you think.

When I started, I didn’t know if people would take this journal seriously or not, and it turns out it’s been the best travel project yet.

I used to get scared to ask people to write in it. Now I get excited to ask them to be part of something special.

To those who left a mark on these pages, thank you for being part of this special book.

And to everyone else, thanks for reading!

— Paul Rabic

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