having been eager to step away from a mainstream lifestyle for years, in 2018 we finally decided to choose each other, to choose family over everything. we left our jobs, sold our house, our cars, and half our belongings and moved from the US to Slovakia. in the years we’ve been here, our family has gone on as usual—learning, facing challenges, and thriving. so what changed besides our location? quite frankly, everything :) when we moved, we said goodbye to the model of family life that has spread like wildfire across the modern world—for 40+ hours/week, parents go to work outside the home while children go to school. the basis of this model is separation—separation of partners, separation of siblings, separation of parents & children, separation of family & home, separation of people & nature, separation of one from oneself. we didn’t know how to be the fullest version of ourselves within this system, so we opted out. we went from having fragmented relationships with each other and strictly defined windows of time together to spending every minute of every day together. now, we have a life that is actually centered around our family, and still has plenty of time for socialization, community building, hobbies, and professional work that is deeply meaningful but doesn’t define the tone or pace for our life.

as we write this, it’s been a bit more than 6 years that we have been together uninterrupted, working on our relationships and communication, connecting with each other and with nature, exploring life's magical potential. we know that this time together has been life-changing for us all in the moment, but we are also certain that it will be profoundly important for our children as they grow up and eventually go out in the world—to have had a childhood defined by time together, free from arbitrary societal pressures, grounded in mutual respect and absolute admiration. when we finally took the leap, we gave ourselves permission to slow down and live out our values, rather than simply wishing it were possible to live a life that aligned with our dreams. investing in our family is, far and away, the most valuable investment we have ever made. psychologist Charles Raison’s sentiment that, “one generation full of deeply loving parents would change the brain of the next generation, and with that, the world,” really resonates with us. we know we can’t singlehandedly change the world, but we know that we can start with our family, tilling the soil and planting the seeds of change for generations to come. for us, this change means loving & respecting ourselves, speaking our truths, shining our lights, and celebrating simply existing.

as we have been moving through this season of our lives together, we’ve found many paths—some well worn in and often tread upon, some used last by our ancestors, now covered in wildflowers and trees. we have come to realize there are so many paths in this life, each of them going in a slightly different direction, each of them bearing imprints of different memories. on a basic level, all of us, as humans, have the same essence within us; however, each of us walks down and experiences our own set of paths, to fulfill all that our spirit needs in this life. each of us carries sacred magic within, just as each path on earth carries its own unique energy and magic. it’s in this spirit of reflection, gratitude, and awareness that we named our journey The Magical Paths.

in the spirit of sharing, we decided to use half of our home as an apartment rental—we saw this as a wonderful opportunity to open our life and our corner of the world to others. it made perfect sense to name our apartment The Magical Paths as well, since by inviting others here, we encourage new paths to be discovered and crossed, for our family and visitors alike. by 2022, after receiving lots of positive feedback from visitors over the years, we expanded our offerings to also include the myriad professional skills, knowledge, and services we have between us. Robo is a personal trainer and massage therapist and Brielle is an English literature teacher and perinatal doula & educator; both are deeply committed to personal growth, to respectful/gentle parenting, to homeschooling, to sustainable living, to community building, and to bringing love, joy, and harmony to the world. when guests come to stay, there is so much opportunity for meaningful time spent here—time to learn, heal, connect, & grow.

we feel blessed that we become more attuned to living this intentional life with each passing day. if something no longer serves us or restricts our dreams in any way, we know we have the choice to choose a new path. simply knowing we always have a choice is magical, the height of empowerment. we would like to share this knowledge and understanding with others, to discuss it, to explore it further, to offer ourselves up as ever-evolving guides. it is our deep hope that every individual and every family can come to this awareness regarding the choices they have.