GRAVICO... inspiration in unlikely places

 

New friends that we met in Olympia WA recommended that we visit the Filoli estate which is located near our current sit in San Mateo CA.  We love to follow up on such recommendations because the results are nearly always educational and fun. In this case, the results were and are unexpected and instrumental in adding a new element to our grand adventure. 

The Filoli home was built by the water, mining and electric magnate, William Bowers Bourn II - who we both speculate could easily have been the inspiration for the Monopoly (board game) character "Rich Uncle Pennybags."  

He was amazing! During the early 1900's, Bourn's holdings included the largest gold mine in California and the Spring Valley Water Company (which had exclusive rights to provide San Francisco with all it's potable water). He also headed up the merger of the largest energy corporation in California, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). Busy guy, someone who enjoyed life a lot.

Among his many projects, Bourn decided to build a "country house" of 54,256 square feet; 56 rooms and 15 bathrooms nestled on 654 acres in Woodside, CA. Water was and still is a precious resource in California and back then, the uber wealthy often broadcast their deep pockets by building elaborate gardens with numerous fountains and pools - this certainly was the case at Filoli.

Fast forward, the estate was eventually donated, and is now a National Trust for Historic Preservation site, an iconic example of a begone area.  The "country house" reminded us both of the Downton Abby setting as well as the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. It is meticulously ornate with unending connected sitting rooms for every occasion imaginable (i.e. poker room, TV room, afternoon tea room, dining room, reading room etc.).  While the mansion is interesting, it was touring the gardens as well as walking the nearby trails that truly fascinated us - starting with the sign that described the origins of the estate's unusual name. In fact, it was created by William Bowers Bourn II as an acronym for his personal credo: 

Fight for a just cause. Love your Fellow Man. Live a Good Life... FILOLI

We have a dear friend and colleague who is a master at making up new words (Sam Horn, we love your work!) but this was a bit different. The concept of creating an acronym to represent a personal credo captured our imaginations so deeply that it became the topic of discussion as we enjoyed the grounds. It was while sitting within a small and secluded grove of redwoods on the property that Phyl intuited it: 
GRAVICO... Gratefully, Vibrantly... Courageously 

In the coming weeks we refined the meaning and relevance to us, past and present. Jer related the words to the concepts of Mind, Body & Spirit. It reflects the internal elements of our decision to 'let go,' to sell our home and most of our worldly possessions, to be unencumbered, to travel and expand our perspectives.  We had chosen a road, as Robert Frost so eloquently put it, "the one less traveled." And we love it! We're filled with gratitude for the experiences of each new day while keeping in mind to nurture our bodies so that we can vibrantly continue to explore  this great land - close up and not from a tour bus!  And, front and center is our individual and collective courage... forgoing the comforts of the familiar and secure in order to expand our horizons... personally, professionally and spiritually.   

 GRAVICO... Traversing a Road less Traveled... Gratefully, Vibrantly, Courageously! 

PS: 

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste it, to experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“Plunge boldly into the thick of life, and seize it where you will, it is always interesting.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living." - Miriam Beard

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." - Neale Donald Walsch