Peaks of Perspective: Life & Wellbeing Lessons from my Peruvian Adventure

This past August (2026), I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Peru with the Youth Singers of Calgary. Reflecting on the trip, there are some important nuggets I took away, lessons that I believe can be applied to living healthier lives and creating greater peace on our planet. I’ll get to those in a moment, but first, let’s go back to the Youth Singers of Calgary: who are they, and why tour Peru?

The Youth Singers of Calgary is a 40-year-old performing arts organization that develops children and youth through show choirs. More importantly, they help young people grow into confident, resilient adults. Founded by visionary leader Shirley Penner, they have developed thousands of young people over 40+ years, many of whom describe their time with Youth Singers as pivotal to their personal growth and development.

We also have adult choirs, so the joy of singing and movement can follow people throughout their lives. I’ve been Chair of the Board for the past year and have served on the board for seven years. My daughter, Cadence, is now 16 (pictured above) and started with the group when she was just eight-years-old.

Every few years, we embark on an international tour, and this time, Peru was our destination. It was chosen for its rich culture and vibrant music scene, and, of course, its beautiful deserts, ocean, and, the pinnacle of the trip, Machu Picchu.

Here’s me having made it to the top (by bus, not hiking, although I’d love to do that):

About 30 performers, ranging in age from 14 to ~30, made up the performing group. They brought with them a beautiful set of show choir and concert choir numbers, some of which were arranged and even composed specifically for this tour by our amazing Principal Director, Kathryn Parrota, a truly gifted artist with a remarkable knack for connecting with teens.

To say the music was beautiful and powerful is an understatement. I’ve shared some of the songs from the four shows the group did in Lima on my social media. The community there even referred to them as the “cast of Glee” and wanted autographs, a special experience for our performers!

Yet it wasn’t Lima where I experienced my deepest learnings to share with you. It was in the Sacred Valley, in Cusco and the surrounding area, where I found the most clarity and insight through the Peruvian people and the wisdom of the Incan ancestors.

The most powerful afternoon of the trip was spent with a deeply spiritual descendant of the Inca, Tito, who is pictured below with my friend Lisa and Daniel, who was a singer and amazing guitar player on tour with us; fluently bilingual, he translated Tito’s Spanish as Tito spoke no English.

Here are my five life and well-being lessons to share with you:

1. Pay attention to the Earth beneath our feet.

Many of us have become disconnected from the reality that our planet is a living, sacred entity, something we continue to take for granted at best, and abuse and mistreat at worst.

I say this often, but I’ll say it again: spending time in nature, observing its beauty, showing gratitude, and reconnecting with the natural world around us is important for our mental, physical, and soul health. My time in Peru absolutely affirmed this for me. The people I met in the Sacred Valley shared their deep connection to the land. They understand that we are part of nature, not separate from it.

There is something powerful about remembering where our feet are planted.

2. It’s not the job title, it’s the human behind it that matters.

So many of us tie our identity to our work. We introduce ourselves by what we do, define ourselves by our careers, and can feel lost or even meaningless when we lose a job or retire.

But you are so much more than any job title or role!

Tito, who spent time taking us around Cusco and the surrounding area, expressed this beautifully. When I asked him if he was a Shaman, he explained that he doesn’t believe in these worldly titles. To him, titles create hierarchy and can disconnect us from one another. Instead, we are all on our own soul journeys here on Earth, and learning from one another. I loved this perspective, and it resonated deeply with me.

Our titles may change. Our careers may change. Our roles may change. But who we are underneath all of that is what truly matters.

3. Stop spending so much time in the past and the future.

Tito spoke about how we think about the past and future as though they are linear, when they are much more interconnected. The past informs our future, and the present is connected to both past and future, but the only time we truly have is now.

We can learn from the past. We can plan for the future. We can set goals and work toward them. But neither past regrets or future what ifs should consume us.

The past is useful for lessons. The future is a mystery.

What we have today is this moment, to express gratitude, connect with ourselves and others, and try to be the best human we can be today. There is something incredibly freeing about that.

4. Don’t be a slave to time.

One of the more challenging parts of our trip was adjusting to a very different relationship with time. Things didn’t tend to run on schedule, and the hyper-service-oriented culture we are accustomed to in North America was not always present. At times, this was frustrating!

But it also made me stop and think about how much we allow the clock to dictate our lives.

For people like the Peruvians who are deeply connected to the land, the seasons, the moon, and the sun, time can be experienced differently. It is less about rushing from one thing to the next and more about being guided by the rhythms of life and the Earth and universe. It isn’t necessarily a source of stress.

Although we may have greater economic means in North America, I sometimes wonder if we are missing something equally valuable: inner peace. Perhaps we could all benefit from loosening our grip on the clock occasionally.

5. A smile is the universal language.

My final nugget from Peru is a simple one: a smile really is the best language there is.

Many of the people we encountered didn’t speak English, and I certainly don’t speak much Spanish. But a smile transcends language; I see you, you see me, we respect and appreciate one another.

The kindness of many people we met on this trip has stayed with me.

There was the McDonald’s in Cusco that stayed open past midnight to serve 30 young people who had missed the chance to eat because of a traffic delay (side note: rush hour in Lima is an unforgettable experience!)

And then there was Tito, who spent time showing us around and sharing his knowledge and teachings without expectation of payment or anything in return. He simply wanted to share the land and what he knew. That kind of generosity is something I want to continue to pay forward, and something I hope we all find ways to do more of.

I hope these five lessons resonate with you in some way.

I want to thank the people of Peru for welcoming the Youth Singers of Calgary, sharing their beautiful culture with us, and embracing and supporting our performances. I’m also deeply grateful to the incredible tour leaders from both Calgary and Lima, including Mariecarmen, Tony, Alida, and their teams, who navigated the many curveballs that come with a trip like this.

And to our talented artistic leaders, Kathryn Parrota and Donald Jones; the “Pisco Sour Club”, including my honorary big sister Diane Chomik; and our amazing CEO, Megan Emmet, for leading the Youth Singers with such a generous heart and sharp mind.

Travel has a way of teaching us things we don’t always expect to learn. I came home from Peru with a deeper appreciation for the Earth beneath my feet, the people beside me, the importance of living in the present, and the reminder that perhaps we don’t need to move quite so fast.

Sometimes, the most meaningful lessons are the ones that slow us down.