you'll remember me when the west wind moves

a professor's final lecture ...

follow me

there is a pleasure in the pathless woods

see this movie.

Into the Wild

there's so much left to know, and I'm on the road to find out ...

There is a deep sense of calm to my life right now, and yet, underneath the calm I feel a storm of change and transformation abrewin'. Some of the things that fit so well only a year ago now seem to no longer belong to me or to fit, as though I am outgrowing parts of my life. It is as though my experience on Outward Bound opened up for me a world of possibilities and now I can't rest until I pursue some of them. So now I find myself asking questions. Lots and lots of questions.

What makes me happy?

What am I passionate about?

What would I do for a career if money were not an issue?

What am I afraid to do? And why?

I know that many of my readers no longer check this page, but if you do, I invite you to share your thoughts. Maybe ask yourself the questions above and share your answers if you feel so inclined. I know I'd love to read your responses.

impermanence

I am back from my Outward Bound trip. I'm not sure where or how to start sharing my experience. Some things I can recall and articulate fairly easily, other aspects may take weeks or a lifetime.

I embarked on this journey with 11 amazing, diverse, brave and bold friends, who quickly became family. Together, we shared our hopes, fears, meals, struggles, laughter, tears and transformations as we meditated, backpacked, fought to survive in a violent hail storm at the top of a mountain, learned how to dig cat holes, had our breath taken away by the beauty of nature, survived our solos, learned how to survive in the wilderness and to leave no trace, practiced yoga at sunrise, held each other's hands as we faced our deepest fears and our biggest challenges, listened with open hearts, shared what we held within our vulnerable hearts, hiked at 4 AM to the top of a mountain to watch the moon rise, followed by Venus and then the sun, lied on our backs in an open meadow and gazed at the stars, awoke to gorgeous sunrises every morning, and drank more iodine treated water than any human should ever have to.

There was nothing that was off limits in our sharing. We were all there to grow, heal or let go and everyone of us succeeded in the most astonishing ways. I have been forever changed by the 11 people with whom I shared the last 11 days. I was anxious about how I would feel after I had to leave them and come back to my world. I am struggling with the re-entry. But I already feel so much is different. I hoped that this trip would help me put some things into perspective as well as be a symbolic journey through the end of one emotional and difficult stage of my life into a new one.

As I sat on the top of the mountain, above tree line, surrounded by an endless expanse of rocky peaks and open sky, I felt myself letting go of the things I had been carrying - in my heart and in my mind. I left them there, on top of that mountain, and as I put on my 50 pound backpack and turned to begin my descent down the mountainside, I felt lighter than I have felt in a very long time.