West Lake Culture of Romance

上有天堂,下有苏杭 There is heaven above, and Su-Hang below… and it is here in Hangzhou, China, where I returned after a three-year absence. Truth be told, this was the heaven I needed after the past three years. Eight days of quarantine bliss, where the only voices I had to deal with were my own.  A perfect recipe to re-enter a country where I had spent…

The Edge of Autumn

“A pathway into autumn… I like this. It’s how I envision the fall.” She turns and flashes me this image. It is one in a series of autumn shots around Kamyk nad Vltavou in Czechia, taken on my last hike in October.  She leans back into the pillow, continues to flip through the photos, and stops when she comes to a poem I had…

Summer in the Sierra Mountains

With effort, I slip through the early morning fog, my mind elsewhere. One step, then another, my thoughts floating back to the Sierra Mountains ~ a youthful spirit riding and climbing versus this old soul shuffling out the door. A few hours later, I fold into a seat on a flight back to Czechia, the morning haze beginning to lift.   It feels more…

The Melancholy of a Czech Spring

Spring inspires. Her enthusiasm reflects the warmth of sunshine and I cannot take my eyes off her. A flash of her wry smile and I’m slowly lured in… For me, the season of spring is the innocent version of Eris, the Greek goddess of strife. When the weather turns warm and life becomes comfortable, she arrives with one goal: to weave a web of…

Ukrainian Philosophy of the Heart

Every day, rolling out of bed, I start with the recognition of a simple tenet of my life: “love what you do and do what you love.” A philosophy I’ve intertwined into every fabric of my being, but this morning I stare at these words I’ve just typed, and I’m lost.  A photo taken in Kyiv at the Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), stares back…

Unfinished Business in the Year of the Tiger

A Peruvian sky painted with strokes of magic only a thunderstorm can create plays out in front of me. My exhaustion complete, I sink deeper into the grass and dirt and drift away from life, away from the world, away from reality.   Silence envelops the valley around me and the storm’s energy is waking my soul. I stare into the eyes of the…

Heartbeat of Time

Is there anything more pure than the mind of a child? Where the reality of a day goes on forever ~ entranced by all the love and peace around.  Never a day lost, never a day wasted. Time does not exist in the manner we experience as adults. Time is in abundance. The preciousness of every heartbeat, a soothing melody moving the world forward…

Waking Up in Kenya with Nietzsche

The fog in my head feels eerily like a hangover but I know that’s impossible because quarantine took away such mornings long ago. The daylight can no longer be ignored so with a bit of indignation I roll out of bed. It would take too much effort to walk over to the window, so instead I stare at the walls. Life has become a…

Edge of the Wilderness

“Standing on the precipice of a wilderness unknown. Alone. Resistance, both past and present, pushes from all sides.” I stare at the words written and wonder what it would feel like to walk along a razor’s edge, day-after-day, your existence always in the balance. My room fills with the warm yellow hues of the evening sun inviting me for a walk, but I am…

Escape from Tomorrow ~ Machu Picchu

Falling back into the past is easier these days. I close my eyes, search a memory and watch possibilities swim around in my mind. There is a sense of freedom with this escape, many paths branch out and I need only choose. Today, my mind wanders from above and I find myself looking down on the hallowed grounds of Machu Picchu. Back in a…