A Lifetime in Eight Seconds

Breathe.   Pray. Please let me make it through these next eight seconds.   …just one more time.   0.0″ Pure silence, then the vacuum of space explodes. The rustic crack of the gate breathes fire into the beast below. Stillness in the air is replaced by a typhoon. With a jolt, my life begins again. 1.0″ Taunt but forgiving, I lay back as…

Time is Fleeting, Never Stop

Unfamiliar territory, the uncertainty paralyzes. A surge of panic fills my head and heart, only to be soothed by the perfect amber of a freshly poured Czech beer. “Here I go again…” Lost. Around me is a language I do not understand. Spreadsheets in front of me I cannot comprehend. A feeling of being exactly where I should be. I relax, surprised by the…

Musings of my Quantum World

The verdict: a decision to affect and disrupt a life. My choice to veer off the comfortable path, abandon the current state of happiness and venture into the unknown. Why? To chase down a mysterious, obscure sensation I cannot explain. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe in the fresh air flowing off Hood Canal and let the peacefulness of the surroundings make the decision for me. The…

The Thin Gauze of Doubt and The Multiverse

The scene is one I can imagine centuries ago. A young man overlooking his homeland, within his reach a promise of a career to ensure him of a great life. A “normal life” both he and his family have dreamt about since he was a kid. His dream at his fingertips, he does not move. He sits there perplexed at the struggle within his…

Women of the American West: Pursuing Excellence

The glint in her eyes mixed with the afternoon sun lulls us in before a quick shift in the saddle flaunts her message: a woman with a Cowgirl Spirit can stretch, bend, and break the rules society lays at her feet. The whisper of the wind matches the cadence of her gallop.  Her light laughter trails off, leaving us cowboys choking in a cloud…

Old World Déjà vu

It was a strange day I remember, exploring Budapest for the first time with a sensation I had walked these streets before, every corner a story to be told.  Each step filled with fascination, time of no concern as evening tumbled from dusk into the magical darkness of night.  Pulled forward by destiny into my past. She was there, a flash of a smile…

Angels in Nepal: One Year After the Earthquakes

Peering out the makeshift door of her corrugated metal shelter, Parathi lets the warm, soft rays of the sun tangle up around her welcoming in another day. A gentle breeze rocks the entranceway of their shelter providing a soft melody for her two autistic children sleeping peacefully behind her. The few minutes of silence brings a smile along with a chance to relax before…

The Life of Dachau ~ On Quality and Giving Up

Those three words, seared into the mind, bring a pain I cannot define. I want to reach out and feel the cold iron letters, erasing their significance ~ “Arbeit Macht Frei” The naïveté when I first read this motto ~ “Work sets you free” still burns.  I stepped through the gate into my new home at Dachau, holding fast to this false promise of…

The Abyss and a New Year Renaissance

The long and winding road of this past year has finally reached its end. I feel broken. Exhausted. Started the year as a kid, climbing mountains ready to attack the world, and now I’m an old goat with barely the energy to take another step. Standing here on the precipice of the Lunar New Year, staring across the dark chasm leading into the Year of…

Slowing Down the Perception of Time

I’ve made a mistake. I look behind me but there is no turning back, I’ve past the point of no return. The chill of frost has seeped further into my bones; the other side of the frozen lake appears just as far away as it did an hour ago. Or was it only a few minutes ago? With snow blowing around I bow my…