It is too easy to do the easiest thing and to just follow the crowd. It is too easy to do things superficially. Life, travel and training are meant to be fully lived and experienced.

Reconciliation is all about making peace between the relationships that once were and still remain. The same goes for our relationship with our own selves. We all have a story within us that is epic. Learning about ourselves changes everything.

Whether it is travel off the beaten path, climbing a mountain or volcano or maybe starting a meditation or workout program, doing the things on the border or outside of what makes us comfortable can change everything. Our lives shouldn’t be about living for the couch but all about living a life that matters.

When we stop and think about the past and all those people who have lived lives to pass on the life you have right now it makes us wonder what happened, what they endured and experienced. Becoming and ambassador of your ancestors means looking into the stories, the myths, legends, religions and culture that was so important to them for eons. When you embrace this you start to see your world and your place in it much differently. This is what training is about; digging deeper and learning from it all.

After a dip in a frigid Icelandic lake I have gone from being someone who hates the cold to taking a cold plunge every morning. What is even better is that I have seen a huge difference in how I feel as a result. Experts are saying dipping in water that is less than 15 C can have profound positive impacts on our health.

Iceland was once a heavily forested place but it was victim of deforestation when it was first settled. There is a lot of valuable lessons to be learned about life and how or why we train in that. Nobody intentionally made Iceland virtually void of trees and everything that results from that and in the same way most of us don’t really realize the mistakes we make when we are living our lives. What we need to do though is understand that we are all humans and all make mistakes, judge ourselves and others and live in duality. Now is the time for our planet to start to see things differently and learn.

In Iceland you historically had to be strong to survive and this is still evident today when you spend time in the place. What can we learn from the Norse/Icelandic concept of þetta reddast? How can you train to be less fragile and to embrace all aspects of life?

Let’s take a look at cultivation of a state of mind that sees everything fresh, new and magical. Beginners Mind can change not just our training but the way we live our lives.

This could be the most important episode yet. Let’s look at how rare, how special and how nearly impossible the chances are that you managed to be born — but not just that, that everyone and everything has a life. What does that mean to you? How does that change your life? How does that change how you treat others and yourself? How do we use that to focus our training and our energy?

People are never the enemy, ignorance is. Once we learn this simple truth we can start to make real changes in our lives. The first step is to see suffering for what it is both in our lives and in the lives of all those around us. When we live in this way we live in and perceive a reality that is far different—and one that we need to do something about.