This is adapted from the December 2025 edition of my monthly newsletter, The Curiosity Column, featuring reflections and lessons from travels across 17 countries and a year shaped by curiosity and growth.
I began writing this in chilly northeast Kansas.
As the final grains of sand slipped down the hourglass of the year, I wanted to take a step back and exhale!
Last December, I wrote about connecting to spirituality, not realizing how much of this year’s journey would ask me to do exactly that.
Now, with a year behind me that took me deep into self-discovery, over oceans and through 17 countries and 10 states, I see something I couldn’t articulate at the beginning:
Curiosity was the spirit moving it all.
It’s not always easy to pinpoint. I’ve often said that curiosity is like a muscle; you may not always feel it but it serves an extraordinary purpose. It also needs to be exercised or it will wither and erode.
This year, I noticed how curiosity showed up differently in each place. Rather than just another year in review edition, I wanted to dive a little deeper.
So, let’s pile in for a sleigh ride together through your monthly dose of curiosity and inspiration!
“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.”
~ Zora Neale Hurston
The Curious Spirit
This year showed me that curiosity isn’t tied to just one way of traveling. It led me through many different doors, each one offering a different kind of insight.
Curiosity gave me permission to move differently: from historic hotels to a friend’s spare cot; from long, crowded African bus rides to gliding through Europe on high-speed trains; and from reconnecting with old friends to sitting down with total strangers.
Each trip asked for a different rhythm, a different kind of presence, and a different version of me.
What follows are some of the biggest lessons and reflections from the trips that shaped this year most deeply, shared in the hope that they might offer useful insights for your own travels, or even your everyday life.
Mexico: Curiosity Requires Commitment
Mexico kicked off the beginning of the year. More importantly, it marked a decision.
It was my first CuriosiTrip, bringing together a small group of people willing to explore Mexico City with curiosity instead of itinerary perfection.
I also committed to Spirited, a year-long program that asked me to listen more closely to my voice and take my inner work as seriously as my outward adventures.
What struck me most was how aligned it all felt. Curiosity showed up as responsibility and purpose.
[Photo by Contraluz Photography]
The lesson Mexico offered me was this: curiosity deepens when you commit to it before you feel fully ready.
It’s when you say yes not because you have all the answers, but because something inside you knows it is time to grow into the question.
It feels fitting that I’ll be returning to Mexico next month. Not simply to repeat the experience, but to meet it as someone changed by the year that began there.
Cuba: Curiosity Humanizes
Cuba offered a kind of closeness and perspective that’s hard to prepare for.
In just five days in March, I was given a glimpse into a place that has long felt elusive—not because it’s distant, but because so much of it has been filtered through politics, headlines, and history rather than lived experience.
Being there felt raw and immediate, as if the country itself were asking to be seen without explanation.
What stayed with me most was the fullness of life I witnessed in the midst of constraint. Despite shortages, uncertainty, and systems that weigh heavily on daily life, people showed up with humor, generosity, and an ease with one another that felt deeply human.
I was struck, too, by how warm and open toward Americans they were. It was a reminder that relationships often hold more truth than political narratives ever can.
The lesson Cuba offered me was this: curiosity bridges distance.
When you step into a place with openness rather than assumptions, you don’t just learn about it; you connect. That connection lingers far longer than the trip itself.
Syria: Curiosity as a Witness
In April, I followed a gut feeling to join a group trip to Syria. Having recently emerged from a long and destructive dictatorship, the country was in a fragile period of recovery and redefinition. I felt an urgency to see it for myself.
Syria delivered a gut punch I didn’t know I needed to feel.
As we moved throughout the country, I encountered people carrying resilience alongside heavy hearts; ancient ruins bearing the scars of war; and religious sites dating back to the time of Jesus Christ.
Joy and destruction existed side by side, sometimes within the same moment. The contrast literally brought me to tears, not because it was overwhelming, but because it was undeniable.
The lesson Syria offered me was this: curiosity doesn’t look away. It stays present and feels.
It is possible to witness beauty without denying pain. Grief and awe can coexist. When you allow yourself to truly feel both, something in you shifts— quietly, but permanently.
Washington, DC: Curiosity Renews the Familiar
My second CuriosiTrip of the year was right in my backyard: the nation’s capital.
Each May, Washington hosts its annual Around the World Embassy Tour, an event I’ve long loved. I built the trip around it, assuming it would feel familiar as it’s just a Metro ride from home. What I didn’t expect was how much it would feel like traveling.
Leading a small group through lesser-known corners of the city reignited my own sense of wonder. Seeing DC through fresh eyes and shared curiosity reshaped a place I thought I already knew quite well.
The lesson DC offered me was this: curiosity allows rediscovery in the everyday.
This fall also marked 25 years since I first moved to the area. Finding that sense of wonder in a place so familiar felt like a quiet, meaningful full circle.
Southern Africa: Curiosity Reorders Priorities
Early summer took me through southern Africa, where I benefited far more from intuition than a preplanned schedule. I trusted chance, listened when my body asked me to slow down, and allowed the trip to unfold in its own way.
From close wildlife encounters in Zimbabwe and Botswana to the warmth and generosity I experienced in Malawi and Zambia as well as the majestic Victoria Falls area, the month was full and delightfully unpredictable.
I made an intentional choice to travel more like locals, even when it was uncomfortable. That meant long rides, crowded minibuses, confusing routes, and a lot of waiting. The time could have been minimized, but I let it be.
What surprised me was how much richer my experiences became when I stopped trying to optimize them.
The lesson Southern Africa offered me was this: curiosity reorders our sense of comfort and reminds us that it’s enough to simply be present.
What I often label as frustration or inconvenience turned out to be luxuries I hadn’t fully recognized until I saw how much endurance daily life requires for so many others.
Northern Europe: Curiosity Is Investing in Relationships
The final flurry of international travel took me through six European countries and two back-to-back gatherings that revealed yet another theme for the year: people.
Fast-paced and heart-filling, the journey gave me the chance to experience new places through the lens of visiting friends. Whether it was a quick beer or several days together, the locations became secondary to the relationships formed along the way.
The lesson Northern Europe offered me was this: curiosity values people over places.
From the streets of Oslo to the pubs of Galway—and all the meetups in between—I strengthened the threads of connection woven through years of travel.
San Juan, Puerto Rico: Curiosity Can Allow Balance
Just a few days after I returned home from Ireland, we were back on a plane — this time to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Sometimes the best way to move through a busy season is to slow down enough to enjoy it, even while it’s still spinning.
It was another short trip, but it held an easy mix of sightseeing, relaxation, and staying connected to work. For once, the balance didn’t need to be forced.
I didn’t need an intense schedule or a checklist of sights. We had just enough time to see what mattered, including plenty of beach time.
The lesson San Juan offered me was this: curiosity can include rest.
For travelers, balance can be elusive. But this trip felt just right: short, restorative, and spacious enough for work and play.
It was a reminder that curiosity doesn’t always ask for more. Sometimes, it asks for ease.
Kansas: Where Curiosity Comes Home
After a quick birthday trip to the Philadelphia area, I headed to Kansas for some holiday time with family.
It had been a few years since I took a proper Kansas road trip, so I made space for that too. The straight roads, wide landscapes, and familiar moments reminded me where I came from.
Curiosity didn’t ask me to go farther here. It asked me to return.
In doing so, it offered something grounding: a sense of steadiness, perspective, and enoughness that only coming back home can provide.
Out of Curiosity…
Looking back at 2025, what stands out most isn’t how far I traveled, but how differently curiosity asked me to show up along the way.
Sometimes it asked for commitment. At other times, it called for a witness. Occasionally, it was about patience, connection, rest, or simply returning home.
Each place offered its own quiet instruction—not about travel itself, but about presence, perspective, and what it means to live with intention and purpose.
That, for me, has been the true spirit of curiosity this year. What began as a push for more became an invitation to notice, feel, be, and respond.
So, out of curiosity…
What has curiosity been teaching you this year?
The Teal Spotlight
As I close out my Spirited year, it feels only fitting to shine the teal spotlight on someone who truly moved the needle forward for me: Jacob Sokol.
I was first introduced to Jacob during a session at Camp Indie in 2021. At the time, I had never even heard of breathwork, but curiosity nudged me to try something new. I had no idea that single session would open the door to deeper self-awareness, emotional release, and a new relationship with my inner world that I have continued to explore ever since.
Jacob’s path to this work is anything but conventional. Growing up on some of New York City’s most crime-ridden streets, he gained street smarts early while also turning to drugs and graffiti as ways to cope with unresolved trauma.
Over time, he came to understand that those behaviors were not the core issue, but rather symptoms of something deeper.
Trusting his gut eventually led him out of that life and into a career in IT, where he proved to himself that a different future was possible.
Outward success was not the end of his story. Jacob’s curiosity about the inner landscape, including his thoughts, beliefs, and sense of purpose, led him to create Sensophy, and later the year-long Spirited program.
His work focuses less on information and more on transformation, helping people reconnect with their inner wisdom instead of following someone else’s blueprint.
Through Jacob’s guidance, I have been able to challenge long-held beliefs, loosen decades-old habits, and hear—and trust—my own inner voice more clearly. His coaching has helped me reconnect with a sense of strength and possibility that had been there all along, but needed space, curiosity, and trust to surface.
Jacob offers one-on-one coaching, immersive retreats, and the Spirited program that has been such a meaningful part of my past year.
If you are curious to learn more, you can explore his work at Sensophy or read his personal story. The retreats he has led in Tepoztlán, Mexico have been deeply grounding and transformative experiences for me.
[Photo provided by Jacob Sokol]
Tools for the Curious Traveler
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
I host small-group CuriosiTrips designed for travelers who value curiosity over checklists. We explore lesser-known neighborhoods, connect with local culture, and travel with intention. You can explore current and upcoming CuriosiTrips here.
A book I’m especially proud to have contributed to is The Traveler’s Atlas of the World by National Geographic. I wrote three of the chapters after traveling to the Horn of Africa. The book includes every country, with beautiful illustrations and photography. It’s a thoughtful addition to any traveler’s bookshelf.
Thank you so much for reading. Wherever you are in the world, I hope this season finds you well.
Be curious,
John
