75.

you do not have to leave your room. remain sitting at your table and listen. do not even listen, simply wait. do not even wait, be quite still and solitary. the world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.

-franz kafka

i've returned from an overnight in Vermont and much like the smell of campfire in my hair, the memories are lingering and will not be ignored.

it is the force of the experiences and the energy of the good folks and breathtaking landscape that have allowed me to return to boston feeling renewed.

i have started recognizing that no matter whether or not we are looking, kindred spirits haphazardly stumble into our lives. life does, in fact, roll in ecstasy at your feet when you let go. when you push your hesitations aside and just live it. my short jaunt to the Green Mountain State was exactly what i needed: bonfire, guitars being played by sweet people willing to have a little fun, cowboy songs harmonizing up, up, and away, and the spirit of togetherness that culminates with such ease under a blanket of shiny stars, in the forest, around a fire. it is striking to me, this unpredictable process of meeting like-minded folks and the way in which these serendipitous encounters lead us to open new doors within ourselves. how one nearly stranger's perspective can alter your own. up in the hills this weekend past, i noticed how some folks just exist in such a way that begs you to bring your all to the moment. to stop holding back, to come out from hiding and to just be. it was quite refreshing to meet such fine, fine strangers and to not let the strangeness of making new friends inhibit the forty-eight hour community of goodness.

[and how could you deny the sweetness in life when eating treats like this?!]

[or forget how fortunate you are when resting your eyes on this landscape?]