Hello

Let's be honest. You followed the instructions perfectly. You climbed the ladder, got the house, and managed to keep the houseplants alive. You built a successful life that looks fantastic on the outside.

There's just one problem: you have a quiet, persistent feeling that you're living in a beautifully decorated cage you worked incredibly hard to build.

​

If that sounds familiar, you're in the right place.

​

Hi, I'm Meindert. For years, I was the poster child for the Gilded Cage. As a stressed-out family man in Canada, I had a life that was technically "perfect" but emotionally bankrupt. I was a ghost in my own story. So, my family and I decided on a radical plot twist. We sold everything, packed our lives into a handful of suitcases, and moved to Ireland, with a beautiful and terrifying lack of a plan.​ That leap—and the subsequent panic, joy, and hilarious misadventures—taught me that the greatest adventures are the ones that lead us out of our cages and back to ourselves.

​​

 

Our Core Philosophy

​

At The Explorer’s Lens, we believe that true transformation doesn’t happen in theory—it happens when you immerse yourself in a new environment and rise to meet a challenge.

​

Planning and living a transformative adventure is the most direct way to rediscover who you truly are. When you step into an unfamiliar landscape, you also step beyond the walls of your own comfort.

 

The goal of adventure is not escape; it’s a return. It strips away the bars of the invisible cage we build around ourselves—the routines, expectations, and quiet compromises that keep us safe but small. You don’t just reach a destination—you come home to yourself.

​​​

 

The best place to start is with my full Origin Story. It’s the unfiltered, slightly-panicked, and ultimately life-saving account of our family's great escape. Consider it proof that a more adventurous life is not only possible but necessary.