A New York Day

I’ve had a hard time putting my experiences into written words these past couple days. Every time I try they just seem too big, too unwieldy to fully capture on the page. But, I’ll share with you this one:

Today I had a “New York day,” as my friend Amanda calls it. This morning I was completely in love with the City and lamenting ever having to leave, but by afternoon I was ready to climb into a hole and hibernate. Continue reading

So many stories…

What a ride it has been! Since leaving Portland on the 9th very moment has been is full of stories to tell you, with few moments left at the end of the day to actually write them down!

I left Alex and Dan in D.C. yesterday, cozy friends and a cozy apartment in Columbia Heights, just a block from Meridian Park. Alex is a dear friend from college who I haven’t seen in three years. I realized it had been even longer since I visited the East coast, about a decade, and how nice it was to arrive to old friends and open arms. Continue reading

Meditation and the known limits of ourselves

Yesterday I woke up to Mt. Rainier towering above a field of mist, illuminated from behind by the soft orange-pink of dawn. Trees and bushes poked out from the ether. Spider webs sunk heavy with dew. My heart almost burst. I lingered for a few seconds before heading to the meditation hall. When I emerged again the mist was gone.  Continue reading

The beginning

I have said so many good-byes this past week but all of them felt half-hearted on my part. Mostly, I think, because I don’t feel like I am leaving.

I finished my last shift of work on Sunday and moved my last box out of my room today. It is the eve of my sabbatical, as one friend called it, and for the first time in my life I don’t have a designated place to call home, nor do I have work or school to wake up to in the morning. The ramifications of this are just now sinking in, as if my heart and lungs were finding a new rhythm to call normal. Continue reading