Ellen and I just got back from two weeks in Greece, where we consumed our fair share of gyros, baklava, and ouzo.
I have to admit I thought I was going to Greece for the views…
But I ended up getting a history lesson, a family reckoning, and a quiet reset all in one.
What surprised me most?
I forgot that everything in Greece is built to honor the gods in mythology.
Everything from crumbled ruins to giant stone temples is dedicated to Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo…
Not just monuments.
These were acts of reverence.
They built cities around stories.
When a new ruler didn't like the architecture, he buried the entire city and started over.
They carved stone for the gods.
They lived their daily lives in service to a meaning bigger than themselves.
It made me stop and ask:
What am I building in my life to honor what I believe in?
What stories am I living by… without realizing it?
Then things got personal.
My grandparents once lived in northern Greece, otherwise known as Asia Minor.
During the Greco-Turkish war in the 1920s, there was a population exchange of Greek Orthodox citizens from Asia Minor and Muslims from Greece.
My grandfather told us stories of his family fleeing for their lives.
Bombs going off around them.
Innocent people being slaughtered by soldiers.
His father got sick and passed away as they fled.
My Grandfather, only 12 years old, led his family south only to find out they weren’t exactly welcome despite being Greek.
He immigrated to the United States, where he met up with his two brothers and what else, and they started a restaurant.
For the first time, that wasn’t just a sad story I’d heard growing up.
It was real. I was standing on the same soil.
And it hit me:
They survived, so I could thrive two generations later.
I never expected my two-week vacation would have such an emotional impact on me.
I'm still processing the lessons I learned while still recovering from the 10-hour time difference.
So yeah… I came back with a little more than a tan and some cheesy souvenirs.
Thanks for being on this journey with me.
Ted
P.S. If you’ve ever visited a place that helped you reconnect the dots, your story, your roots, your purpose, I’d love to hear it. Just hit reply.
