India

Butterflies fall dead like
Leaves drifting in the
Winds of the thick
Yellow Himalayan air.

Drowning in layers of
Darkness - deep and
Black with the heaviness
Of fear - wakened only
By the sound of monkeys
Screaming in the night.

One voice penetrates
Every memory... Sound
Turning the world into
One bright blinding light
Guiding me back from my
Dreams of hell, repeating
Jai Jai Ma Jai Jai Ma.

Twenty days or Twenty years
One lifetime away
And every ocean on earth
Separating me from
MySelf.

Twain’s India

“This is indeed India! The land of dreams and romance, of fabulous wealth and fabulous poverty, of splendour and rags, of palaces and hovels, of famine and pestilence, of genii and giants and Aladdin lamps, of tigers and elephants, the cobra and the jungle, the country of hundred nations and a hundred tongues, of a thousand religions and two million gods, cradle of the human race, birthplace of human speech, mother of history, grandmother of legend, great-grandmother of traditions, whose yesterday’s bear date with the moldering antiquities for the rest of nations-the one sole country under the sun that is endowed with an imperishable interest for alien prince and alien peasant, for lettered and ignorant, wise and fool, rich and poor, bond and free, the one land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for the shows of all the rest of the world combined.” ~Mark Twain

Gandhi

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

Gandhi

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

Albert Einstein

"Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better."

Bill Bryson

“But that's the glory of foreign travel, as far as I am concerned. I don't want to know what people are talking about. I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can't read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.”

Hermann Hesse

“Most people…are like a falling leaf that drifts and turns in the air, flutters, and falls to the ground. But a few others are like stars which travel one defined path: no wind reaches them, they have within themselves their guide and path.”

India

"To other countries, I may go as a tourist, but to India, I come as a pilgrim." – Martin Luther King, Jr

Wayne Dyer

"You can take the sunshine and bask in it, or you can burn yourself to a crisp.  The tao just is, and it doesn't care!"

Woodstock

“The 60’s were about trying to discover the truth about everything and trying to live that truth in life. Discovering your inner self and being true to it. Doing what you really want to do and trusting that if you did the right thing, ‘your way’, the universe would support you by making the right thing happen.” -Elliott Landry-

Seuss

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...

Doug Peacock

“Arm yourself with friendship, and love the earth.”

Arizona

 

Restful and calm, the warm center of my

being. True to myself, owning my feelings

and actions, non-competitive kindness oozing

from my pores. I find strength - determination

and will from deliberate non-action. Choosing

my choices. Bathing in the exhilaration of the rich notes

of my first song. I walked alone through

the desert after three days with no food

and found that my indifferent inner nature

was no longer harsh but now matched the

outer landscape. Life and strength surrounded

me. The tall saguaro, the gentle giant, stood

before me and we matched. The same

energy pulsating through us, from us, engulfing us. 

Both of us breathing the breath within the breath.

The same life force flowing through each of us,

animating us, driving us to grow tall, to

grow more limbs, to drink more water, to

fulfill our one and only soul's purpose.  I

asked the regal cactus, “Who Dies?” and

he answered: 

We are all born and we all die but it is only the death of the body, the spark that resides within us goes on.  Transfiguration, Transmutation, Transcendence. You are not alone, but every step is your own. Breathe fully into each step and savor it. For no two steps are the same. Do not rush but do not dally. Your purpose is in the steps. Take nothing and no one with you, for we are each on our own journey and I am your companion but not your savior. Find your savior within, we are all one, we are all connected, God resides within us all. Dwell in this contradictive space. Growth only comes from acknowledging our true nature and being completely who we are; if YOU are an otter then embrace your otterness and love who you are, who you were, and who you are becoming. From birth to death is simply a journey home.

Gila Wilderness

Day One…

Moving a little slow - leaving a little late,
Heavy legs – straps digging into shoulders.

Adjust Stride, Adjust Straps, Repeat.

Stopping, taking pictures - talking,
Time flying by…  faster than the miles.

Poison Ivy, Hot Sun, Mosquitoes.

Setting up camp - a little early,
Discovering what was forgotten wasn’t needed.

Watching the stars rise - burrowing deep in my bag,
Sleeping sporadically - listening to the night.

Cold Feet, Numb Shoulder, Hard Ground.

-Looking for ease but finding resistance-

Day Ten…

Waking up early - feeling refreshed,
Another night of deep dreamless sleep,
Coffee steam rising with the morning sun.

Routine – making breakfast easy,
The last meal - a lighter pack,
Quiet and Quick preparations.

Miles flying by...  faster than the hours,
Wanting the last day to never end,
But mentally rehearsing…

“Cheeseburger, French Fries, Milk Shake”

Strong legs - Strong stride - Relaxed mind,
Less pictures - Less words - More meaning,
Bonded with - Self, Companion, and Earth.

The long adventure now feeling so short,
Slowing in the last minutes - bittersweet completion.

-Looking for ease and finding peace-

Eckhart Tolle

“Being an outsider to some extent, someone who does not 'fit in' with others or is rejected by them for whatever reason, makes life difficult, but it also places you at an advantage as far as enlightenment is concerned. It takes you out of unconsciousness almost by force.”

“See if you can catch yourself complaining, in either speech or thought, about a situation you find yourself in, what other people do or say, your surroundings, your life situation, even the weather. To complain is always nonacceptance of what is. It invariably carries an unconscious negative charge. When you complain, you make yourself into a victim. When you speak out, you are in your power. So change the situation by taking action or by speaking out if necessary or possible; leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.”

“Accept — then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. Make it your friend and ally, not your enemy. This will miraculously transform your whole life.”

oh, coffee...

Oh Coffee, you dispel the worries of the Great, you point the way to those who have wandered from the path of knowledge. Coffee is the drink of the friends of God, and of his servants who seek wisdom.

…No one can understand the truth until he drinks of its frothy goodness. Those who condemn coffee as causing man harm are fools in the eyes of God.

Coffee is the common man’s gold, and like gold it brings to every man the feeling of luxury and nobility….Take time in your preparations of coffee and God will be with you and bless you and your table. Where coffee is served there is grace and splendor and friendship and happiness.

All Cares vanish as the coffee cup is raised to the lips. Coffee flows through your body as freely as your life’s blood, refreshing all that it touches: look you at the youth and vigor of those who drink it.

Whoever tastes coffee will forever forswear the liquor of the grape. Oh drink of God’s glory, your purity brings to man only well-being and nobility“

–Sheik Ansari Djezeri Hanball Abd-al-Kadir, 1587

9 Years

“If I know what love is, it is because of you.”
– Herman Hesse

Samurai Koan

A samurai once went to see a  monk. He asked the monk... “Teach me about heaven and hell.” The monk looked up at the mighty warrior and replied with utter disdain, “Teach you about heaven and hell? I couldn’t teach you about anything. You’re dumb. You’re dirty. You’re a disgrace, an embarrassment to the samurai class. Get out of my sight. I can’t stand you.” The samurai was furious. He shook, red in the face, speechless with rage. He pulled out his sword, and prepared to kill the monk. Looking straight into the samurai’s eyes, the monk said softly, “That is hell.” The samurai froze, realizing the compassion of the monk who had risked his life to show him hell! He put down his sword and fell to his knees, filled with gratitude. The monk said softly, “And that is heaven.”

Darkness

“Relationships with negative people are simply tedious encounters with porcupines. You don’t have the remote knowledge how to be close to them without quills being shot in your direction.” ~  Shannon L. Alder

“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.” ~ Carl Jung

"As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do." ~ Andrew Carnegie

Birthday

"The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes." ~Frank Lloyd Wright

"None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm." ~Henry David Thoreau

“Oh, the worst of all tragedies is not to die young, but to live until I am seventy-five and yet not ever truly to have lived.” ~Martin Luther King Jr.

Adventure

"Take only memories, leave only footprints." ~ Chief Seattle

"It is not down in any map; true places never are." ~ Herman Melville

"Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn.  Climb that goddamn mountain." ~ Jack Kerouac

Rumi

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,

there is a field.  I will meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass, 

the world is too full to talk about.

Ideas, language, even the phrase each other

doesn't make any sense."

Og Mandino

I will love the light, for it shows me the way.  Yet, I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars."

Alan Cohen

"Fixing yourself is a task you will never complete because your quest is founded on a faulty premise. You cannot fix yourself because you are not broken."