Secret Ingredients
I’m in the opening stretch of a very busy time, and only getting busier. I feel my body wanting to brace for impact, and it takes diligence to keep telling myself to lean in and soften. It’s so easy to spiral into the impossibility of it all – too many to-do’s for one person, three…
Thailand Tales – Slaying the Dragon
Just after Thanksgiving, I traveled to Thailand. Nearly a year ago, I gladly accepted the invitation to one of my favorite countries on the planet, but as the time approached I found it hard to tear myself away from my loved ones, celebrating my favorite holiday. The journey was long and challenging, an exercise in…
Living a Passion-Filled Life
I just returned from the first real retreat I’ve had in over a decade. One where I had no access to my treasured internet and devices. I thought I would go through withdrawal, but I easily forgot all about my lack of connectivity while surrounded by remarkable natural beauty and loved ones. I ate food that came…
Retreat, Renew, Restore
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust As this note hits your inbox, I’ll be in the middle of nowhere. Well, not nowhere. Actually in the middle of Ross Lake in Washington state. Which happens to be spectacularly free of cell or wifi…
What I Carry: Final Tales from Alonnisos
I carry the places I’ve been like a layer of fine silk that initially sits on the surface and eventually absorbs into the fabric of my being. I carry with me the sights of beauty and sometimes tragedy that I always fail miserably to capture on camera. I invite in the different flavors of…
Birthing Stars: More Tales from Alonnisos
You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star. Friedrich Nietzsche In Greek mythology, the term Chaos refers to the “formless void” that eventually became the Cosmos. It represents the nothing that created everything – water, earth and air. Initially an indiscernible mess, transmuted by the force of progress to…
Into the Heart of It: Tales from Alonissos
In the past 36 hours I’ve traveled through New Jersey, Zurich, Athens, and Skiathos (a large Greek island) to get to Alonnisos (a small Greek island). I’ve been on a large plane, a medium-sized plane, a small plane, a boat and several taxis that ranged from a Mercedes sedan to a beat-up Fiat. I’ve climbed…
Dispatches from Morocco, Part II
My two weeks in Morocco have been overflowing with new sights, aromas and insights into myself and the world around me. Splashes of color, care and sacredness touch everything, from shapes of doorways to the placement of buildings and the flavors of food. I keep diving deeper into the aesthetic around elaborate inner spaces, both…
Dispatches From Morocco, Part I
It’s the third day of my first grand adventure of the year. I find myself in Morocco, which is not only a new country, but a new region for me – North Africa. As I drive through the country to the various sites, I’m reminded of Delhi, of Athens and of Indonesia. There are pangs…
Dance with the Divine
This piece was inspired by a recent trip to Alonissus, Greece, as well as a beautiful line by the famed poet Mary Oliver. So this is how you swim inward. So this is how you flow outwards. So this is how you pray. – Mary Oliver I have stripped off my dress, maneuvered across the…