Hey friend. I'm Doug, I'm from Florida, USA, I'm a lively and value-driven life long learner, living to find harmony between my principles, my vision, and how I spend my time. By the time you read this, I’ll be somewhere later in my mid-twenties, somewhere lower in my bank account, and somewhere different on the map, but all the same, I’ll be heading your way.

So you know where I'm coming from, please take a second and read a bit about my appreciation:

Couchsurfing should not be used as a tool just to connect those without resources to those with resources. This is an incredible platform, a vehicle of discovery and friendship that so significantly enriches the experience of traveling, and I use it as such. I message you because I think you look interesting, you likely inspire me, you are involved in something I consider virtuous or intriguing… whatever it is, I message you because I believe in you. I believe in you, want to learn about how you see the world, I want to share with you, and I want us to both leave our meeting thankful, hoping to have more human encounters like these throughout our lives.

So, a bit about me and my life direction right now. I’m an inquisitive soul on a journey to cultivate my best possible self, to learn about myself, to learn to love myself more, to love others more, to spread this spirit, to demonstrate empathy, to grow, to help grow. I’m on an intentional path of self-actualization, to learn about the world, to pursue what I love doing, and find my place where I can help other people and the planet.

I routinely reinvent myself, with a resolute determination to build a more wise, more compassionate, more wholesome character. This is of course my goal, so I try to incorporate the best of what I've recently learned into my current identity and weave new principles and interests into my day to day thinking and doing. Step by step, day by day, I'm trying to build a life and identity I believe in. Most recently I've been studying principles of Buddhism, though not practicing the religion, practicing downshifting and minimalism, and reading up on history, economics, and geopolitics. Social rights and principles run strong in me. I'm interested in change, redesign, conscious analysis of the way we presently live and how we can organize ourselves more eloquently, sustainably, and fairly. I see the world we're living in and observe so much potential for healthy, crucial improvement. I want my work to affect my environment in a way that I can believe in, I want to spend my time purposefully.

I love the feeling of warmth and benevolence when you embrace someone who does not anticipate it. I love this feeling of unity and familiarity that comes along with showing unconstrained love for someone. I love the sight of uninhibited, trusting eye contact, the sound of streams isolated from all else but bird chirps. I love the smell of new books, and the taste of hoppy beers and wholesome food.

I'm an ambivert, I love being with people and love my alone time. I'm an intermediate guitar player. I like to relax with a good book or a pen and a pad. I'm passionate about health and fitness. I'm a vegetarian. I practice insight meditation daily. Weightlifting, football (soccer), basketball, and surfing are the sports I enjoy most. And I love the outdoors. Nothing is quite as pure as unplugged, reflective time spent surrounded by nature.

I love people who reveal themselves to you on a soulful level, the authenticity between those who know their own goodness and look for that in others. Let's have some of that, shall we?

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Because of you! To meet you and share some of your life’s passion with my own.

Interests

Passion. Purpose. Autonomy. Medicine. Health care. Positive psychology, Guitar, Singing, Fitness, Meditation, Languages, Culture, History, Sailing, Hiking, Juggling, Reading, Football (Soccer), Basketball, Surfing, Singing, Kayaking, GoPro, Social business, Travel

Some quotes that I love and help depict how I think:

"The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character;
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let it spring from love
Born out of concern for all beings...
As the shadow follows the body, as we think, so we become."
- Buddha

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” - Albert Einstein

"The allegory of a physical mountain for the spiritual one is an easy and natural one to make. Like those in the valley behind us, most people stand in sight of the spiritual mountains all their lives and never enter them, being content to listen to others who have been there and thus avoid the hardships." - Robert Pirsig

"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good." - Samuel Johnson

"When you're standing on a high cliff, looking over the edge, that sort of dizzyness is not caused because you are afraid that you're going to fall, it's because you're afraid you're going to jump." -­ Zan Perrion

"When the best leaders work is done, the people will say, 'we did it ourselves.'" - Lao Tzu

“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give” ­ maybe Winston Churchill, maybe Anonymous

"No one ever travels so high as he who knows not where he is going" - Cromwell

"The richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least." – unknown

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." - Mark Twain

"We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late." - Martin Luther King Jr

• culture
• books
• singing
• beauty
• education
• environment
• ethics
• dining
• beer
• vegetarian
• fitness
• exercise
• running
• meditation
• reading
• traveling
• juggling
• guitar
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• kayaking
• surfing
• sports
• basketball
• soccer
• teaching
• entrepreneurship
• history
• languages
• medicine
• psychology
• mountains
• health

Music, Movies, and Books

Music - indie, acoustic, soul, folk, funk, psychedelic, jazz, reggae, blues.

Movies – Documentaries, psychological thrillers, bizarre or artistic flicks, stoner comedies.

Books - Medicine (Atul Gawande), Environmentalism ("Prosperity Without Growth," "The Story of Stuff," "Cradle to Cradle"), spirituality and mindfulness ("Awakening the Buddha Within," "Breathe! You Are Alive, Lovingkindness," "The Power of Now," "Be Here Now"), a lot of history - economic, cultural, religious ("Open Veins of Latin America," "A Farewell to Alms," "A Short History of Islam," "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich"), positive psychology and behavioral psychology ("The Social Animal," "I'm Okay You're Okay"), biographies of the ultra successful and intriguing (Jobs, Einstein, Escobar), historical accounts and adventures ("Unbroken," "Shantaram")

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

As a lifeguard at a natural spring, I had 14 drowning rescues. A mother and an infant at the same time on one of the rescues.

Teach, Learn, Share

The most important lessons taught and learned through couchsurfing are those of character and approach to life. Be your best, I'll be mine, and we'll undoubtedly learn along the way.

Teach: Meditation and mindfulness, alternative travel and frugality, guitar, music theory, positive psychology, juggling, voluntary simplicity, fitness, vegetarian dishes

Learn: Seriously everything, tell me anything. Language, too.

Share: Smiles and vibes

Countries I’ve Visited

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, England, France, French Guiana, Germany, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Martinique, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Northern Ireland, Panama, Peru, Poland, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin (French part), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Scotland, Serbia, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Suriname, Switzerland, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S., Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States