It started under the stars

Story by Babette – read time approximately 2,5 minutes

“We both wanted to take a next big step in life and follow a passion we’ve been dreaming about for so long.”

It was a warm Caribbean evening in May 2017. As our first date was so much fun, I decided to invite Richard on a second date to a romantic restaurant on the beach. We immediately picked up where we left off the last time and felt the enormous click we discovered on our first night grow even more. We just couldn’t stop talking and decided to move to the comfortable bean bags on the beach.

To our surprise the restaurant was closing down… ”So soon!?” We had lost track of time and it was already past midnight. The owner saw that we were enjoying ourselves and poured us a last round. “You’re welcome to stay” he said. “Just don’t come close to the bar, as the alarm will go off”, he added – while turning off the lights.

And there we were… laying on a beautiful beach, with tiki torches dimly lighting up our dark  surroundings, covered in a sky blanket – filled with millions of stars. The quietly crashing waves created a tranquil soundtrack to the perfect evening.

That view at the infinite sky clearly deepened our conversation. Richard talked about how he had everything he’d wish for – a successful business in interior architecture, a nice car, the beautiful design apartment – but also mentioned how he found more value in the connection with others and nature through traveling. He explained how seeing the world had opened his eyes, softened his judgment and made him appreciate the smallest things in life. It also made him realize how material possessions could weigh him down and even make him feel unhappy or locked up.

Choosing a fulfilling life with more freedom

All this sounded very recognizable to me. One of the reasons I decided to move to the island of Curaçao – far away from my home country – was my longing for a life with more freedom. Away from the scheduled and busy European hustle and bustle. I had come to the conclusion that my quality of life was very strongly connected to my ability to spontaneously fill in my own time and be free, instead of being part of some rat race.

On our first date we already discovered our shared love for nature. Now laying here, on the bean bags, under the star-filled-sky, we also realized that we both wanted to do more than just recycle and eat less meat. We were eager to learn how we could transform our complaints about the world around us into a positive mindset and movement. Apparently we both wanted to take a next big step in life and follow a passion we’ve been dreaming about for so long.

Things became silent as we looked at each other and smiled… suddenly we realized how special this moment was: The Ripple was born 💙

Click here if you would like to learn more about the Ripple.