While on our winter adventure in Colorado, we experienced a very odd week, where a handful of people lost their lives in different ways. We were reminded that life is happening now and it can come to a close at any time. We both agreed that we can do a better job at being in the now and appreciating the little things in life.

The two of us decided to toss the old-school mentality of “happily ever after” out the window and we replaced it with “happily ever now”. We’ve been working on rewiring our brains, to redefine the meaning of life, redefine the meaning of love and redefine the meaning of happiness. We’ve met others, who are also waking up, throwing out old belief systems and taking leaps of faith to better their lives and the lives of others.

One man we met, said that all of his children had grown up and seemed to not need him any more. He said, it was the first time in his life that he felt he had no direction, yet he mentioned having the desire to do something different. He was in his fifties and he had already walked the path most traveled, but he was still searching for something more. He said that ultimately, he wanted to serve others, help the environment, find himself and live in the now.

We’ve come to learn that living in the now, means being flexible and going with the flow. In 2016, Hurricane Matthew hit the small town we were living in. We evacuated and later, saw the house we were renting on the news, with water up to the door. We realized, the dreams we had planned to have come true in that home, were no longer possible. The universe had a different plan for us and it required us to let go of almost everything we had and most importantly, live in the now.

We decided, rather than continuing to dream about getting on the road in our VW bus, it was time to just go for it. We chose against rebuilding a life in a box and instead, put everything into building a life on the road and living for today. We left South Carolina in our VW bus with $3,000 and pointed away from the coast. With no plan and no clue as to what was ahead, we putted across the border into unknown territory and began an adventure of a lifetime.

Since leaving the town we had lived in for seven years, we have had wonderful adventures across the country and we have experienced a life we once only dreamed of. We saw that we didn’t have to wait for our happily ever after, it was happening. It was terrifying, thrilling, eye-opening, exhilarating and so far, it has taught us more than we could have ever asked for.

To this day, we still have no clue what tomorrow holds (which we’ve come to like) and we’re doing our best to continue to live without expectations, worries or limitations. Rather than trying to paint a pretty picture, we’re working on appreciating what is already in the picture. Life can pass us by quickly if we’re always looking into the distance and it has been so nice to slow down and enjoy the ride.

Practicing “happily ever now” and minimalism is proving to make each day brighter and we hope more people keep breaking the traditional mold of what life should be, by going after their dreams and demanding their happily ever now.