Q: After leaving the US and traveling to all these places, why did you return to the US?

TODD ANSWERS: For me, a peaceful or happy life, which could be found in a cave or a forest, meditating in solitude, is not the point of life. My purpose is to look back and feel that I built great relationships, built financial stability for my family, and lived a life filled with different interests and passions. Living with people, and all of the messiness that comes with people, the drama, addictions, failures, regrets, mistakes, to me, that is where the real beauty of life lies.

It’s not about perfecting our environment. It’s about perfecting our inner environment.

The spiritual tools I learned in nature may be discovered in mountains or forests, but they are designed for big cities, for stressed workers, for normal life. For me, my spiritual practice is to live a normal life in a spiritual way. That is the joy.

The more we face stress, the more strength we gain to overcome stress. The more tragedy we face, the more wisdom we develop to help others through their tragedy. I see the US, and especially big cities, as spiritual universities, places where we can grow and evolve because of the struggle, because of the pressure. Stress and struggle can become lights on our path toward peace.