5 years from today. 2024. I’ll be 45. A day in the life of me, imagined. A writing exercise in daydreaming about the future, as if I was writing it in the present.

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Everywhere, just expansive vastness. That’s how it feels like to drive in Iceland. Growing up in a concrete jungle like Singapore, the wide open fields amidst dramatic backdrops of mountains and sea in Iceland can be disconcerting initially. But that’s what we’re here for! To live in a space that has so much of it.

We’re on a Golden Circle with Northern Lights road trip this weekend. Rent a 4-wheel drive, load up with food and water, and off we go! Being with the family here is a special experience. The kids have so much space to run around. Occasionally we stop by to pet a horse, or dip in a hot spring. Otherwise, picnics in the summer can be quite nice. Of course, we always choose the best spots. Golden Falls for lunch, and another waterfall for sunset dinner perhaps?

And for the night, we go aurora hunting. These alien lights are elusive, like their UFO counterparts. But a million times more mysterious and beautiful. Driving at night has its challenges, but stopping to witness the aurora in full swing, is nothing but other-worldly and magical. It’s as if a cosmic being is dancing with a silk banner, twisting and turning, so fluidly and gracefully. And the night, wow the night. Other than the occasional howling wind, it’s completely silent and cold. Not even the sound of your footsteps, as the sound is tampered by the soft mossy grass and moist lava soil. 

Just like walking on the dark side of the moon. 

Guided by starlight alone, with cosmic rays dancing and showing the way, we do our little dances too, in awe and in gratitude.