What is the greatest gift someone could give you?
The older I get, the less interested I am in accumulating things. I’m at the stage where I want less stuff, not more—less to store, maintain, and feel responsible for.
What I value now is meaning.
One year ago I gave my wife a milestone birthday gift that couldn’t sit on a shelf: a trip to Antarctica. It was the best holiday of our life. Sixteen days in a majestic environment—ice, ocean, sky, silence. It was extraordinary..
Antarctica has a way of recalibrating you. It makes you feel small, but in the best sense. It puts the everyday anxieties back in their proper place. It reminds you the world is bigger than your routines, and your worries don’t deserve quite so much attention.
So when I think about the greatest gift someone could give me now, it would be something like that: shared wonder. A journey that interrupts the ordinary and returns you to things which are more essential.
I have a big birthday coming up in about eighteen months, and I often joke about it. But if we’re talking about a truly wonderful gift, it would be a trip to South Georgia and the Falkland Islands. Another edge-of-the-world adventure. More wildlife, more wind, more awe.
At this age, the greatest gift isn’t more. It’s deeper.
The Afterword 
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