Life Uninhibited

"The one thing of value is the active soul, free, sovereign, unencumbered. This every man is entitled to, this everyone holds within him, but in almost all men, it is obstructed and as yet unborn."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Opportunities Galore...

Too many opportunities. At one time. I mean really who's to complain. And who knows if any of them will turn into realities. But, still I can't help but wonder about the timing.

God, Country, King

The Moroccan motto spelt in stone on a hillside on the drive from Rabat to Merzouga. "God, Country, King"

Pretty Things

Over the past few weeks I have acquired some cool little pieces of art. The 43rd Street Festival was 2 weekends ago in Richmond where I found this artist who makes shrines. I loved all of her stuff and decided to invest in one of her smaller pieces.



Today I traveled to my hometown, Waynesboro,VA, to attend the Fall Foliage Festival...something I attended every year as a little girl. I bought a little unique vase with two separate spouts for flowers. I'm already in love :)



And the last image is just a photo I snapped out of my skylight because the sun was setting and the light was just right...couldn't resist.

A Safari is...

Dan Eldon was a photojournalist who traveled Africa making friends and helping those he came across on his travels. In the biographical novel I'm reading about him there were several excerpts that caught my eye. The first I wanted to share seems to splendidly represent his carefree, daring attitude:

"From there, he headed straight to Soweto, the notorious black township outside Johannesburg. It was already dark, and he needed an inexpensive, safe place to sleep...He phoned his grandmother to ask,"What family do we have in South Africa?" She replied, "Sorry Dan. Our people didn't get that far...where will you stay?" He told her not to worry and then, seeing no other immediate options, went to the local jail where the amused police were willing to provide him with a cell for the night."

He was only 18 years old. These next quotes discuss "safaris" and how this term describes the way Dan treated every day of his short life.

"A safari is about more than the sum of a trip...It is about the power of departure, that feeling of cutting oneself off from the day-to-day routine and entering new time zones, different landscapes, other people's lives-all of which at the moment of departure, are totally unknown and unexpected. Safari is also about living in the moment and the way that travel forces you into the present, be it through extreme pleasure or hardship."

"Why plan too extensively when the plan is bound to change? There's always a turn in the road that you can't quite see around, and waiting on the other side could be a sweeping, magnificent vista or, just as easily, a spilled box of nails poised to poke a hole in your tire."

"Safari is about constant play, constant curiosity, constant resourcefulness. It's a perspective on life, a life lived in eternal exploration."



Above is one of Dan's beautiful journal pages....learn more about him or see more of his work at: www.daneldon.org

Good Deeds

Here's to a friend of mine leaving for Kenya in a few days to work for the Peace Corp. She, Alli, will be using her sign language skills to spread AIDS awareness to adults and children who are, unfortunately, deaf. I made her a journal to take with her and urged her to write, write, write.

"The Journey is the Destination" is a little inspiration from a Kenyan inhabitant turned photojournalist & world traveler who died doing what he loved while helping others. I am currently reading a book about him, "The Art of Life" by Jennifer New.

Best of luck Alli! Have a wonderful and inspirational experience and know each day that you're making a world of a difference in these people's lives.

The Valley

I visited Blacksburg this weekend and the Shenandoah Valley was absolutely showing off as I drove home. Breathing in the mountain air and seeing the slightest signs of Fall reminded me why it is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE season. There's just something about that Autumn glow.



And the Blue Ridge mountains have something to say for themselves as well, regardless of the season.