Peace in the winter

Isn't it amazing how even though the leaves are gone, the brids still choose to decorate the tree's branches...they land on the barren landscape, sit for a while and fly away...peaceful and calm 

There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before. Robert Lynd

Only got one.

Since the onset of my journey navigating the complex world of what is known as graduate school, I have been blessed with meeting three very special women. During dinner with them tonight, one of them said something so simple, yet so profound that it actually re-centered me and re-connected me back to the passion I have for writing. The conversation we were having was about experiencing life in all of its richness and the hopes of one day being well-off enough to be able to pack a small suitcase and set off for a destination unknown...and I mentioned how ever since I can remember I've had not only a list of places I wanted to experience and write about, but actual cutouts from Condé Nast Traveller and National Geographic Traveler of faraway destinations that I hoped to one day visit and detail my encounters therein. My friend looked at me and said "you can do anything you want to do. That's not an unrealistic dream to achieve." 

Of course I know this...I am a big believer in the fact that if you want something in this life, you can obtain it. Sure, it may take hard work, it may be uncomfortable, it may even be the greatest challenge of your life, but it's worth it. The experience, the change you feel while you are experiencing life in its fullest and most beautiful form are worth all the pain and struggle when you finally arrive there. And when you do, just be sure to breathe it in and enjoy it. Because this is your life...and you've only got one. Maybe I just needed to hear it out loud.