One of our goals is to include you in our community, to make GC a welcoming space for people with a passion for cultures and travel. No matter what the future holds, this has made all the work worth the effort. I hope we have given you the same sense of fellowship that we all feel.

The long, dark winter was longer and darker than most of us can recall. The signs that we are on the other side of it may be small things—wisps of hyacinth in the air, grass growing out of control—but in a world-wide pandemic, we can use all the hopeful signs that nature can put out. It could not be more fitting that our monthly theme for April is “Rebirth.” There are so many ways in which this theme can apply to every person these days.

This month our theme is “Women.” This is an apt topic for Guide Collective, as we are a woman-led organization. Our guides this month will share varying views of women around the world and what women have meant in our lives.

One of the best ways to deal with the rollercoaster of emotions this pandemic has given us is to project love. There are many ways to do that, from small gestures to grand works. I have a suggestion for all of you that follow us here, consider supporting our guides.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. Even if you’re stoic and not prone to expressing love, there are so many ways you can “share the love” in dark times. Check in on friends. Tip generously. Randomly send flowers. Take cookies to a neighbor. Whatever small gesture you can muster, make it a goal to do at least one thing per day that expresses love in your own way. 

We’ve all had to think on our feet and try to reinvent ourselves to fit a completely foreign reality. I can’t lie, it has been hard and unpleasant. Often transformational change is hard, scary, uncomfortable, difficult.  But the results of making unimaginable choices and taking roads you’d never noticed can lead you somewhere unexpected.

This year has been one of the most challenging on record, especially in the travel world, so it may seem counterintuitive to talk about celebrating anything. Bad news plagues our social media and televisions, the entire world is stressed out. It is in these times, however, that celebrating is more important than ever. Small victories are all around you if you look for them.

I have never made a sourdough starter, nor have I ever had an interest in doing so. While I love sourdough bread, everything I’d read in the past indicated that it is a long, laborious process with little promise of success. Why would I bother when my time is precious and I can buy fantastic sourdough from my local bakery? 

Every day in every famous museum, there is a swarm of visitors mobbing a single piece. The David. Primavera. The Sistine Chapel. And in Paris, the Mona Lisa. Tempers flare as visitors vie for position to get the best view or the perfect selfie for Instagram. And as I observe the madness, I have to wonder, why are we doing this?