Aryn Henning Nichols

One act of compassion has the ability to shift your entire day. Maybe even week. Month. Year. Hey, I know it sounds ridiculous, but maybe that one act of compassion will shift your entire life. Making an effort to be kinder than you need to be, to open the door for a stranger or smile at a passing walker, or to be extra generous as you travel through life has the potential to ripple good vibes across the universe.

Compassion is defined as recognizing the suffering of others and then being inspired to help. It’s an emotion related to empathy – the ability to place yourself in other people’s shoes and really understand where they’re coming from with their thoughts, feelings, and actions. The leading theme in the Summer 2024 issue of Inspire(d) is compassion because I believe it’s what we need to reconnect in humanity. Shifting our perspectives, allowing ourselves to see things from different points of view, is vital to creating a worthwhile future for the next generation. 

But don’t mistake these efforts as a way of sugar coating the state of the world, or a move toward complacence. It’s quite the opposite. This is a mountain we’re climbing here. There is so much division right now, and there’s a lot of language out there pushing us to believe that “people are horrible.” Sure, *some people are horrible. But *way more people are good. We have to remember that. And then open ourselves up to acting as though we believe it. That first step is a leap. Especially if we’re the first one to do so. An act of compassion is a vulnerability. But it’s one I heartily implore you to find the courage to take. We need you in this climb.

Believe in the good in people. Assume positive intent. Granted, it won’t change the reality of the situation either way. But whether your thoughts are true or false, believing in the good in the world will change you. Your compassion, by its very existence, makes the world a better place. And that’s worth it every time.

Always looking forward (with as much compassion as I can muster),

– Aryn

Compassion: We are all seeking happiness

Compassion is recognizing the suffering of others and then being inspired to help. Here are 13 ideas for tapping into your compassion.

1. Practice Empathy. Imagine yourself in another person’s shoes. Everybody is going through something. Cut people some slack.

2. Jilt the Jadedness. Being jaded just messes up your own life anyway…try giving compassion a chance.

3. Believe in the good in people. 

4. Make caring cool.

5. Nobody is Perfect. Mistakes = Lessons

6. Listen. We all want to be heard in this noisy world. Be open to other perspectives, even if you don’t agree.

7. Be kinder than you need to be

8. Open the door for a stranger

9. Smile at a neighbor

10. Be extra generous

11. Assume positive intent.

12. Treat yourself – and others – as you would treat a friend.

13. Remember self-compassion. You deserve all of these things as well. Go easy on yourself. Don’t be your harshest critic. Be your biggest cheerleader. (Check out our DIY affirmation cards for positive message ideas!)

Summer 2024 Inspire(d)!

Ah summer. Throughout life, it’s meant different things for me. In my younger years it was a welcome break from school. Pool fun. Summer jobs. During early parenthood, it was all about finding ways to keep our kid engaged… and also the work flowing. Searching for balance (always). More recently? It means grasping at every second I can get with our pre-teen as she grows like the corn in so many fields across Iowa: Seemingly before my eyes.

I swear I can hear it happening. It makes my heart simultaneously swell and constrict. These days are fleeting. And these kids are the future. Everything we do in this life needs to be for them. We need to connect with each other, with the land, with our communities. We need to find compassion for one another. 

The obvious next step is to start hearing young people’s opinions, thoughts, and dreams. So… we’re excited to announce a new column: “Future Focused – Listening to the Next Generation.” Our daughter, Roxie (turning 12 this summer), has written the first essay for this page. Dang, I’m proud.

Her writing is inspired by her experiences with Ida Rotto and Red Oak Outdoor School. Our Luther College editorial intern, Margaret Mullin, wrote an amazing piece about Ida’s wonderful, nature-based educational programs – which Roxie has been a part of for the last three years. (How about all those cycles of inspiration?!)

And our Luther College design intern, Allison Thomley, put together an epic spread that reminds readers to be kind as they head out on summer adventures in the Driftless and beyond. I’ve loved working with and mentoring different interns over the years – it’s fulfilling, and a great reminder of the good folks coming up in the world.

Our cover artist, Jennifer Drinkwater, created The What’s Good Project because she wanted to start seeing the good as well. Her goal was to rewire her thinking to stop focusing on the bad, and instead spot – and share – the positive things happening in a community. Obviously, we are 100 percent on board with this idea. Sharing positive community stories is our core mission!

And we’ve got some great community builder stories to share this summer. Charlie Dee, a Holmen, Wisconsin, businessman, teamed up with three nurses in La Crosse to send compassion – along with medical supplies and training – across the world to Laos. In Southeast Minnesota, Nathan Davidson builds community one gig at a time through live music, and in La Crosse, the owners of Blue Zone Pickleball are bringing people together through exercise and healthy lifestyle.

Benji Nichols’ inspiring Sum of Your Business interview with Chris Jackson from Borah Teamwear will have you clamoring to take in the beauty of this region, as will Lynsey D. Moritz’s feature on Sarah Farrell and James Mackessy at ændre arthouse. 

RAGBRAI, cave adventures, live music, mystical moths, fair time scenes… you can find it all in this Summer Inspire(d) Magazine, and this summer in the Driftless. There are so many people planting seeds of magic out there, seeking and sharing happiness. In fact, our Summer theme is “Compassion: We’re all seeking happiness.” We are encouraging folks to take a beat and consider the humans you encounter on your summer adventures. We’re all going through stuff that you can’t see on the outside. Let’s extend a little compassion. Happy Summer, friends! Read the entire Summer 2024 Inspire(d) online here, or see the story list below!

Looking forward,

Aryn Henning Nichols

In this issue, you’ll find:

Compassion: We’re All Seeking Happiness. Artist Jennifer Drinkwater & the What’s Good Project • Community Builders – Charlie Dee – Nathan Davidson – Blue Zone Pickleball • 100 Years of Niagara Cave • Road Map Lanterns • Infographic: Compassion • Mental Health: Self-Compassion • Ida Rotto & Red Oak Outdoor School • Future Focused: Listening to the Next Generation – Roxie Nichols • æendre arthouse • Kindness Etiquette 101 • RAGBRAI • Sum of Your Biz: Chris Jackson of Borah Teamwear • Mystical Moths • Probit: Jerry Aulwes & More!

Summer Vaycay Playlist!

Set your summer vibes with this fun playlist by me!

Eighteen years. It had been 18 years since I traveled off this continent, and got fresh perspectives and new inspiration from seeing the world. But in April 2023, we reset that ticker with a trip to Greece. International travel was achieved once again, and this time, my whole family was along!

International Family Travel

When I graduated from University of Iowa in 2003, I knew I wanted to Travel. That “t” is capitalized for a reason – I wanted to live on another continent, and really get to know some places other than the ones I’d known since birth. 

I looked into being an au pair or joining the Peace Corps, I applied for a fellowship in Germany, and also for a job teaching English in China. I got the teaching gig, and prepared myself to not only leave the continent for the first time in my life, but go halfway across the world to do it.

It was one of the best decisions of my life. It not only informed my work with Inspire(d) – because if people are good on our side of the world AND the other side of the world, logic implies there’s a whole lot of good folks in between as well – but it also added an even greater sense of wonder to my already pretty massive sense of wonder at the world. (Read one of my memories of that time here.) There are some seriously beautiful things in nature and to be learned through history, and the fact that we get to witness them is truly a marvel!

When we had our daughter, Roxie, I knew I wanted to try to share experiences like that with her as well. What we had to figure out was timing and money.

Timing

Kudos to families that travel with small children. We are not one of those families (at least not to more logistic-heavy locations like Greece). We decided to wait until Roxie was old enough to remember the destinations, strong enough to lug her own suitcase (for the most part), and responsible enough to pack her own clothes. At the time of our trip, Roxie was 10 (and three-quarters), and we felt like she was ready to tackle this trip. (Spoiler: She did great! But she was still a 10-year-old, and didn’t have the stamina of an adult.)

The other timing part of it was our dog. We have a bernedoodle named Athena, and we are her guardian family. That means we have taken care of her from puppyhood on, socializing her and in general making her part of our family, and that when it’s time for her to have puppies, she goes to the home of the breeders – in this case Bluff Country Bernedoodles – where she has and then nurses her puppies. We agreed to a certain number of breedings, and once she’s done, Athena is our dog to keep forever, free of charge. It has been very interesting to learn more about dog’s gestation cycles and mama dog instincts and all of that (did you know it only takes nine weeks to gestate puppies?!). 

While we were making this decision on being a guardian family in early April 2020, one of the things in the “pro” column was that there would be a handful of eight-week time periods where our dog would be on what we lovingly called “maternity leave.” We wanted to use these blocks of time as catalysts for traveling as a family. Because it’s so easy to let time slip by, with the “oh, we’ll do that someday,” mantra on repeat. 

Athena’s first litter of puppies was due in mid-April 2023, so that some day was no longer a vague moment in the ether. It was time to plan!

Planning Our Trip

When dreaming about our first international trip as a family, we asked Roxie where she would want to go. She immediately said Greece! She and I were in the middle of reading the Rick Riordan Percy Jackson series (and all the other related series to follow), and were learning a lot about Greek gods and goddesses. I love the idea of travel connected to books (watch for a future post about that), Greece seemed like one of those “trip of a lifetime” places, and I was ready for some culture that felt vastly different from American culture (akin to my time in China).

Plus, the fact that our dog’s name is Athena seemed like the universe pointing us across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.

We got to work figuring out a (what we like to call) “Frugal High Life” trip that would involve saving money where we could, and spending it when it was important. It equaled a travel experience that worked great for us, and we’re excited to share more about it.

We traveled from April 10 to April 28, 2023. 

Our itinerary was as follows:

April 10-12: Ames

Odd place to start a voyage to Greece, I know, but we went to the Iowa Rural Summit! I spoke at a Round Table, and then Benji and I were among the winners of the 2023 Rand Fisher Rural Leadership Award!

April 12: Chicago O’Hare to fly SAS

Flying from Chicago O’Hare meant our flight was a lot cheaper than if we went from MSP (even though the drive is 4.5 hours from Decorah, and even a little farther from Ames). I started with a google flights search to see where prices were landing during our travel window, and that was consistently the case. Plus the flight times were better. (FYI, we booked everything late February to travel in April.) We flew overnight, leaving at 10 pm, and arriving in Copenhagen in the afternoon on April 13. SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) gets really good marks in my book (even though Roxie dreaded the nine-hour flight home after experiencing her first long haul flight on the way there).

April 13-15: Copenhagen 

The SAS flights routed us through Copenhagen on both ends of our trip, and at both times it was an overnight layover. We decided to extend our layover on the front end of our trip, so we could actually check out Copenhagen (really quickly). We were able to do this by booking our flights through Expedia. Watch for our “48 Hours in Copenhagen” post to come! We LOVED this city! We stayed in the cutest hotel! And don’t get me started on the amazing Scandinavian breakfast spreads! I loved it all so much.

April 15-19: Athens

Our flight into Athens arrived on the eve of Orthodox Easter (around 8:30 pm). We took the metro downtown from the airport, and came out of the station right into view of the Parthenon! There was a lot of Orthodox Easter excitement! In our four days in Athens, we explored on foot, did a Parthenon tour, took a bus to Delphi / Arachova for a great day trip (both through Get Your Guide – loved this website for booking tours), and did lots of laundry in our Airbnb (it was in a fabulous location for sightseeing), ha!

April 19-22: Santorini

We took the shortest flight I’ve ever had from Athens to Santorini (and it was cheaper than the at-least five-hour ferry ride). In Santorini, we had a wonderful hotel (Altemar Suites) with our own personal balcony and our own personal hot tub! Santorini gives you those blue-roof-views you often imagine when you’re thinking of Greece (Greece islands, especially). We did a cool day trip tour that took us by boat to the active volcano, hiked to the top and back down, then boated to an area where we jumped into the Aegean Sea and swam over to volcanic hot springs! It was pretty epic, as were the Santorini sunsets.

April 22-25: Naxos

We left Santorini on a 2.5 hour slow Blue Star Ferry to Naxos, and loved that mode of transport for that amount of time (and longer would have been fun too, honestly). Naxos was the “chill beach vacation” part of our trip, although it was a little cool for actual beach chilling. We loved the labyrinthine streets of Old Naxos and exploring the little stores that seemingly appeared like magic around every corner. Plus, we had an adorable Airbnb with super cool Cycladic architecture.

April 25-26: Athens / Artemida-Artemis

Rounding the wagons back toward home, we flew from the tiny Naxos airport to Athens, and stayed at a beach Airbnb in a small town near the airport (Artemida-Artemis). It was fun to see another part of the Athens area, and get one more day to dip our toes in salt water.

April 26-27: Copenhagen, with an overnight in Malmo, Sweden

The flight the next day took us from Athens back to Copenhagen. But instead of heading back into this lovely Denmark city, we decided to take the 20-minute train ride (which goes under the channel!) to Malmo, Sweden! Woot, one more country added to the list! We didn’t extend this layover, so it was just one night in Sweden (in a fancy hotel we booked with points!).

April 27: Chicago

Our flight was delayed, but I honestly love a good airport beer so I was okay with the extra time. This flight left in the early evening, so we chased the sunset the whole way home! Upon landing in Chicago, we waited in line for an hour at U.S. customs in a sad, windowless part of O’Hare. But we made it through, got our bags, and took a shuttle to where our Dodge Grand Caravan was waiting in a Park and Fly (booked through way.com).

April 28: Home to Decorah by 2 am.

We thought about staying in a hotel on the way home, but we were all ready to be in our own beds again, and I didn’t want to pack the suitcase one more time! So I chugged some gas station coffee and powered through it.

In the coming weeks, we’ll share different details about our trip! I love planning and putting puzzle pieces together (it’s a lot like making a magazine), and had a great time researching guided tours, ways to connect the Rick Riordan books, and how best to find that balance between travel hustle and vacation chill. Here’s what we’re hoping to cover:

• Travel Connected to Books

• Pros / Cons of Flying Overnight

• Extended Layovers

• 48 Hours in Copenhagen

The Nichols Family in Greece!
The three legs of our Greece itinerary in more detail, including tour reviews and favorite spots!
• Athens
• Thira, Santorini
• Old Naxos Town, Naxos

And (maybe) more (like Airbnbs vs Hotels, exchanging money in Greece…)!

Planning your own trip? Use this International Family Travel Checklist (I love a good list!) to get ready to go!

Speaking of lists, here’s a little playlist I put together that brought back the Greece vibes for me. There are some retro songs on this list that we heard in random shops or in cars going down the streets, so I had to add them!