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Still not ready for words. Let us be led by love.
Cozumel, Mexico.
Quote of the day: “There is no ‘way to peace,’ there is only ‘peace.” — Mahatma Gandhi
Daily gratitudes:
That MKL makes me laugh
Peek-a-boo with a baby
Sharing feelings with Mohammed
Having a voice to help others
Kelsea’s new job
Sealongings
Waves are formless and endless,
Their gentle rush and lion’s roar
A sound that fills ears, shells, and spirits.
I think that people who complain
That the sea is too loud,
That it disturbs their slumber,
Must be missing a small piece of their soul.
Perhaps the sea has swallowed it and
has yet to give it back.
It holds mine in its fathoms.
It lets me breathe unencumbered beneath the surface.
It rolls in a rhythm that matches my heartbeat.
It serves as a grateful vessel for my tears.
It cools and feeds my passions.
Far away, I hear that gentle rush
In conch shells on the shelves of coffee shops
And in dreams.
Always in dreams.
Anegada, British Virgin Islands.
Quote of the Day: “The voice of the sea speaks to the soul.” — Kate Chopin
Daily gratitudes:
Birds in the trees
Mr. Man’s paw on my knee
Kelsea’s writing and her sense of justice
New tickets leading to new adventures
Not having to shovel my sidewalk
As it usually is, today was better. I felt better, not so hopeless. There was sun. And then there was snow. But that’s okay.
Cozumel, Mexico.
Quote of the day: “I’m the one waking up at 4am to witness the sunrise, where the sky touches the sea, and I hold my elbows, grasping tight to whatever I’ve made of myself.” — Charlotte Eriksson
Daily gratitudes:
My random llama
Piglets running
How much Mr. Man loves chicken
Kelsea’s first spring break adventure (I wish I was with them)
A certain calm
My husband
Sending love and prayers to Kelsea’s Ultimate teammate, who lost her Mother unexpectedly this week. What impossible pain for a young woman. For any woman.
I am captivated by the colors of the Caribbean. Never in my life have I seen anything so constantly changing, eternally beautiful, and purely perfect. Always. The sea always calls to me, no matter how far away I may be.
Cozumel, Mexico.
Quote of the day: “I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.” — e.e. cummings
Daily gratitudes:
A very happy weekend
My darling husband
Friends who stop by to visit
A new heating pad
Salmon
There were many places for reflection on our quiet side of Cozumel, though I found this one both lovely and surprising. Situated at the edge of the quasi-chill bar, Rasta’s, was this lovely little … chapel? shrine?
I’m not quite sure what to call it, but inside it was cool and peaceful, with small madonnas in shrines, windows with views of the sea, and a starry map of the island painted on the ceiling. Stepping through that arch, serenity enveloped me like a warm, gentle wave. Most others were heading to the bar or the tables in the sand, so I was happy to stay in here for a few minutes on my own, and soak in stillness, hearing nothing but the ocean and a muted roar of happy voices. I spent quite some time on this trip contemplating my own spirituality, and this was a fine slice of hush.
Quote of the day: “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” — Pierre Tielhard de Chardin
Daily gratitudes:
Moments of true forgiveness felt
Greening things
Wisdom to avoid fruitless situations that anger me
Kelsea
My beloved
I didn’t customarily accompany the sunrise with a couple of fingers of tequila in a handblown sea green glass tumbler, but I’m not saying it never happened on this trip. We are both still really missing the curious magic of this place.
Cozumel, Mexico.
Quote of the day: “He who kisses joy as it flies by will live in eternity’s sunrise.” — William Blake
Daily gratitudes:
Blooming purple vincas
Talks with Kelsea
Dropping off my taxes
Trying to play with the much disliked wind
Coatless weather
There were a lot of views from Rasta’s on the South end of Cozumel, but I love this one, taken through the window of the massage room. I doubt it’s the most relaxing environment for a massage (I didn’t get one), being above a crowdy rowdy bar, but the scenery was fabulous. The food was only fair, but the beer was cold, and the vibe pleasant enough. They bus cruise ship passengers in, which makes it rather crowded, but everyone deserves a piece of paradise.
Cozumel, Mexico.
Quote of the day: “It’s all in the view. That’s what I mean about forever, too. For any one of us our forever could end in an hour, or a hundred years from now. You never know for sure, so you’d better make every second count.” — Sarah Dessen
Daily gratitudes:
Forward progress
Morning birdsong
Sprouting iris
Breakfast with my in-laws
MKL
Not right now, but it was for some time, and it was amazing. I believe all of the things they say about being by the sea being a healthier place to be, what with negative ions and all. We were blessed to be able to have the time here that we did, and my creativity was fed like some sort of undersea volcano. Consequently, it has been harder than usual to make the transition back to the cold, brown, overcrowded daily world. And so I draw again upon the strength of gratitudes, and allow myself today. A day following a night in which I woke several times listening for the crash of the waves against the limestone rocks beneath our room, and waiting for the sun to rise from the sea.
Travel broadens the horizons before your eyes and the horizons that live within you. It changes us in ways we cannot quite put our collective finger on. We return with colorful memories, deeper intimacy, renewed peace, revived goals, and fresh determination. The hard part is holding onto those gifts we gain from travelling once we return home.
Cozumel, Mexico.
Quote of the day: “By hook or by crook, I hope that you will possess yourselves of money enough to travel and to idle, to contemplate the future or the past of the world, to dream over books and loiter at street corners and let the line of thought dip deep into the stream.” — Virginia Woolf
Daily gratitudes:
Two yellow crocuses in bloom
A lovely drive yesterday
Hot baths to soak away the blues
Doctor Zhivago, one of my Mother’s favorite movies
A snuggly cat happy to have me home
Biding my time until we are somewhere warm. And trying to get my shoulder to heal. That part is not going well. But the countdown to warm is moving right along.
Topsail Beach, North Carolina.
Quote of the day: “People are just as wonderful as sunsets if you let them be. When I look at a sunset, I don’t find myself saying, “Soften the orange a bit on the right hand corner.” I don’t try to control a sunset. I watch with awe as it unfolds.” — Carl R. Rogers
Daily gratitudes:
Warm socks
Mr. Man
Jumping jacks
MKL
Messaging with my girls
As Hurricane Patricia pounds Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo, and little fishing villages such as my much-longed for Yelapa tonight, my thoughts and blessings and white lights and prayers are with the people who try to scratch out happy lives there. I have been dream shopping for trips back Puerto Morales, Isla Holbox, Yelapa, and Cozumel for February, and am always a fan of patronizing a place trying to recover from a disaster, just so I can help a place and its people recover. These areas, while know for tourism, are also homes to families who do not have steel-reinforced structures, and who can lost everything in 175 mph winds. I have seen the damage a strong hurricane can cause in North Carolina, a place where people have the resources to rebuild, and my heart goes out to those in poorer cultures who don’t have that kind of help.
I know that this worst-ever-hurricane pounded areas north of my previous stomping grounds, but I wanted to post an image of the white sand beauty of the area from when Niece #1 and I took our wonderful trip down there and I thought she’d been kidnapped looking for hielo. She’s an excellent traveling companion and the trip was a blessing I’ll always remember. So join me please, in prayers for Mexico and its lovely people and to many more beautiful, mystical trips there.
Tulum, Mexico.
Quote of the day: “Some things just couldn’t be protected from storms. Some things simply needed to be broken off…Once old thing were broken off, amazingly beautiful thing could grow in their place.” — Denise Hildreth Jones
Daily gratitudes:
Big skies today
A morning that looked like Scotland
A toast to the success ofAnastasia Fawni
Making it home just in time when your stomach is upset
MKL’s hugs
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