I’m in Patagonia, Argentina and I keep hearing laughter. The kind of from-the-gut-belly laughter that's contagious.

I think it's what joy sounds like.

Each laugh sounds so authentic that I’m immediately transported back to when my twins Maddie and Sydney were about 6-years-old and would make up what they called their "daily laugh.”

They would tell me each morning what laugh they were planning to use for the day.

And they’d stick to it!

The randomness and intonations of their very different laughs each day would also made me laugh.

They were light and free in those moments, and that energy in turn brought me to the same place.

I feel that same lightness of energy here in Patagonia, and I’m not sure why I’m so surprised that I hear so much laughter. Is it because many of the Argentinians here are on their summer vacation? Or surrounded by jaw-dropping mountains? Or deep in nature?

Whatever the reason, this uninhibited laughter that I hear walking around El Chaltén has helped me to relax a bit more, truly appreciate where I am, and shed the worries that I carried here with me.

It wasn’t easy to press pause on so many responsibilities at home, but I was determined to reconnect with my adventurous self, and channel my “explorer play personality” for my 50th birthday adventure.

The challenge now is to carry this lightness home with me and infuse even a little bit of it into each day. Even when it’s hard. I know it’s hard for you too. I think it’s hard for everyone.

As we all get older we seem to laugh less, but it’s really so important to find those little moments in your day - whether it be a small chuckle or a big belly laugh.

So maybe I’ll ask my now 16-year-old twins to make up a laugh for me.

It works every time.

With fierce love,
Alison