In October, I had a Friday the 13th themed storytelling potluck to celebrate the most unlucky day in Western superstition. We shared stories of childhood rituals, spooky cultural folklore, and our most comically tragic stories of misfortune. We feasted together on the most abundant potluck spread I’ve ever seen. Yeah, it was a really special night. (I’m just gushing with gratitude for this new community in Durham.)
Asheville,
You were the most nurturing mountain town to live in while writing and finishing a 175-page dissertation (guess I finally got to have my romantic “recluse in the mountains” phase of life). Thank you for the nourishing community, the 360 degrees of natural beauty-fueled inspiration, and your constant little reminders to be kinder and more gentle towards myself.
It’s been a while since I’ve written anything leisurely, and you know what? I completely and unreservedly blame this dissertation. For the past few weeks, it’s been academic writing, research, statistics, and analysis *every day* for as long as I physically and possibly can. On the bright side, I am happy to share that the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and closer. I’m starting to squint, reaching around aimlessly looking for the sunglasses I dropped on the floor. Come April, I’ll finally be finished with this dissertation:
There are relationships that are centered around certain places,
sometimes remaining and laying dormant there for all time,
rejuvenated only when time allows presences to align.
A few months ago, a monk said to me, “It’s easy to be thankful for our friends, family, good health, and positive experiences, but it’s much more difficult to be thankful for challenging situations, difficult people, and other difficult experiences. Now you’re probably wondering: why should we be thankful for these things? Well, sometimes, difficult experiences and people who make us angry or sad can show us where we might need more wisdom.”
A year ago, I moved to a really charming corner of the world called Battambang, Cambodia. I had previously been there one other time for my first 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat, but this time around would be my first time actually living and experiencing a non-monastic life in Cambodia. I was excited to return and reconnect.
“Life has many ways of testing a person’s will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.” – Paulo Coehlo
Yep, it’s that time of the year/semester when pretty much everyone I know seems to be inundated by their novel-length to-do lists.
I’m not sure if it was the emerald green glacier lakes or the ethereal elk mating calls that echoed through the valleys at night, but Rocky Mountain National Park set the bar extremely high on my National Park tour this year.
I think I love this saying more than the average person. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent the majority of my life working with kids. Maybe it’s because I’ve had great students. Or maybe it’s because 50% of my community worldwide are kids. Or maybe it’s really because I know this sentence is so full of hard, beautiful truth.
