The benefits of reconnecting with your wolfpackThis particular edition is come at you hot, from a perch overlooking the beaches of Cancún, Amigos.I'm on a long planned trip with eight of my college buddies this weekend -- we are all celebrating a BIG milestone birthday this year (a few actually celebrated theirs a year earlier) and decided to go somewhere remote and exotic to reconnect.It's been a long time coming -- with all that life has thrown at us, it's probably been at least 15 years since this collective group has been together in one place.I have a confession: strangely, I was not looking forward to it.It wasn't because I didn't want to see everyone. Simply, it just felt too over the top, too close to COVID and too hard to pull off. Add to that a busy work and family schedule, and as the trip got closer, it just seemed impractical.Funny how sometimes the most impractical things are what you may need at a given moment.Reconnecting with old friends is about celebrating and reliving the experiences you once had in common. While the passage of time and circumstances may make the the connections less relevant than they once were, it cannot erase the shared history.The storytelling, the old jokes, the playful banter, the sharing of updates on what has happened in real life since everyone was last together has been a cathartic escape from the norm. Though we are older and hopefully wiser, we are able to temporarily transport ourselves through time and re-establish bonds that shaped us into the people we have become.It's also an opportunity to have some silly, innocent fun that, as years go by, just doesn't happen too often. The boozy roadtrip vibe is like reliving spring break all over again. For those that really embrace it for what it is, it is rejuvenating.And yet, I am finding that the experience is also giving me the opportunity not just to have some laughs with some old buddies, but to observe and learn more about myself. I am a different person today than I was when I met these people. The stories we share remind me of how far I have come, how I have grown, and I can reflect on where my journey has taken me from our common starting point.A residual benefit of this is that taking the time to listen to my friends, their own stories, and how they have navigated the course of their lives is giving me ideas on how to improve myself. I never expected that a trip to celebrate the past would help me prepare for the future -- but in some ways it has.Now don't get me wrong -- this all inclusive trip hasn't entirely been an existential journey. There is definitely a bit of a Hangover element to it all. So check back with me in a week. Hopefully no one from the wolfpack gets lost, loses a tooth, or we end up having a run in with Mike Tyson and his pet tiger. But with this group of knuckleheads, MY group of knuckleheads, I suppose anything is possible....Enjoy the rest of the newsletter. I'll be thinking of you as I enjoy a few adult tropical beverages this weekend. Adios amigos!XOXODave