8/28: Seattle Thank You

So, I have been back in Seattle for 3 days now. Things seem to naturally fall back into place. I even had one work meeting (though I did request that we meet at a coffee shop so I wouldn't have to go into school yet and it wouldn't feel so much like work), which went fine and got me excited (a little bit) about the upcoming school year.

I don't know how or if I will continue this blog. I imagine there will be some things to say about the transition from "travel mode" to "back at home mode." Really, though, what I have been feeling this morning is appreciative. I had never done a blog before and I learned to love doing it. Every once in a while I would meet a person and say, "Nice to meet you," and the person would reply, "Nice to be met," or someone I know, after saying, "Nice to see you," would reply, "Nice to be seen." And that is how I feel. I have been trying to understand my attraction to writing the blog and to being read. My intention was to be as open as possible, and it was nice having a venue to do that, for I know that I shared parts of myself that I do not normally do. It was nice to be read, and nice to be seen. I know that communication is a "two-way street," and I have no control over how I have been seen (which is actually a pretty true life lesson), but I am so appreciative of all of you out there who have read my blog, and have, to some degree, "seen me." To make this long story short - Thank You from all of my heart.

8/22-8/25: Littleton Colorado, Back in the USA

As I had been reading about all the anti-Muslim sentiment in the States, I joked with my European friends that I would be held up at US customs due to all the new Facebook friends I have with Muslim names. (When I left the Muslim Girls High school in Malaysia, a number of students asked if they could keep contact with me through Facebook. One student led to the next - now I have over 200 new friends, all with names like Fatiha Afiqah.) Even though I was joking, I did have a slight fear that it might be true. To my relief, the only thing I was questioned about was the $4 I listed as the amount of goods I was bringing into the States (I bought a bottle of Marmite in Bristol before I left - I fell in love with Marmite.)

My sister Amy with Dude, on our walk through the hills of Littleton, Colorado.

View of Littleton while on our walk

My nephew Rory with the fish he had caught

Family dinner: Amy and Russ with their children Ricki and Rory, my parents Adele and Phil, my cousin Dana and her daughter Alexis, and me.

My last night in Littleton we went out to a fish restaurant in Denver. though I forgot to take a group shot, I did get a photo of my delicious oysters. It was sooo nice spending time with my parents and my sister's family.

Mount Rainier, [14,411 feet high (4392 meters), located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) Southeast of Seattle] from the airplane on the flight to Seattle

It is both very strange and very normal being back in Seattle in my home. The first thing I noticed was how many things we have (quite a shock from living for the past year with just what I could carry in my back pack). I actually had to lay down for a while and let it sink in. I think it will be the impetus to "clean house" and get rid of stuff. (Though it was sort of fun opening up a drawer and putting on a different of pair socks, a different t-shirt and different underwear, but I am still stuck wearing the same pair of pants, for I lost too much weight to wear any of the pants in my closet.) Driving from place to place came back without thinking, but I couldn't remember where our living room clock was, or how to turn on my mobile phone.

8/23: Quotes and Reflection on the Sacred

Quotes from Wild Comfort:
"If the universe is an unfolding bud, then I am a part of its creative surge, along with the flowing of water and the growing of pines. I can find a kind of camaraderie in this universe, once I recover from the astonishment of it." (p. 147)

"Even if we don't believe in God, we walk out the door on a sacred morning and lift our eyes to the sacred rain and are called to remember our sacred obligations of care and celebration." (p. 151)

The part I love is the last line - "our sacred obligations of care and celebration." At every moment it is our responsibility to look and to see, to feel and to know that this "every-day reality" is a mystery and a miracle to behold. The most mundane of all actions - a single breath - is a miracle of creation, a miracle of life. Oh, to pay such attention, to be so aware and appreciative, to live and walk through our lives and our days in such a state!

8/19-8/22: Bristol, England

Ginetta in Bristol, England

I met Ginetta twice in India - first in Pushkar, Rajasthan in November, and then again three months later in Southern India in Hampi, Karnataka. So I thought it would be a good way to end my trip - visiting an old friend. And it was.

Bristol train station

Bristol is two hours directly west of London, near the west coast of England. The town was listed in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 1051 CE, though there is evidence of human activity in the area from as far back as 60,000 years, during the Palaeolithic era. The city prospered on the trade of slavery (during the height of the slave trade, more than 2,000 slaving ships were fitted out at Bristol between 1700 and 1807), tobacco, and piracy. though piracy was illegal, privateering was not. (Privateers had a "letter of Marque" from the government, allowing them to attack and steal from merchant ships of certain countries.) The famous pirate, Blackbeard, was born in Bristol. Many important voyages exploring the world started in Bristol, notably John Cabot's 1497 voyage of the exploration to North America.

Vegetable market and street scene in Clifton, the "up-scale" area of Bristol

In an old cemetery

Bristol Cathedral - originally known as the Abbey of Saint Augustine, was founded in 1140CE, and constructed over a period of 700 years.

Also Bristol Cathedral

St Mary Redcliffe Church - construction started in the 12th century CE and completed in the 15th century, has a height of 292 feet (about 90 meters) - the third tallest English church. Queen Elizabeth described it as "the fairest, goodliest, and most famous parish church in England."

Due to damage during WWII, much of the original stain glass has been replaced.

Royal York Crescent - "the longest crescent in Europe, or maybe in the world," say Ginetta. "Or maybe not."

Walking the streets of Bristol, an old private school in the background

The "world famous" (according to the Bristol tourist guide)Clifton Suspension Bridge, crossing the Avon Gorge, designed by the Victorian engineer Isambard Brunel, built in 1864.

View of the River Avon and the Avon Gorge from the Clifton Suspension Bridge

Sailing in the harbor area on a Saturday

Scenic Bristol's rivers and canals

Many people live on these house boats, and can explore much of the area through the rivers and canals

Peter, Ginetta's cat - my second "cat friend" on this trip. Peter would sleep with me on Ginetta's couch

Quote from Wild Comfort, p. 68: ""'Those who dwell . . . among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone . . .' (Rachel Carson) . . . There are no edges in this world. The water, the snow, the bear, the memory of the blackbird, the urgent growth of the lily are all one beautiful, mysterious thing, and we are part of that one thing. How, then, can we ever be alone."

The end: It was really fun hanging out with Ginetta for three days, meeting her friends (all of them artists of some sort - painters, musicians, song writers), and going for walks through the beautiful city of Bristol. On my last evening of this year sabbatical, I went with Ginetta to a dinner party at Angie's house. Angie asked me what was my favorite place that I visited, and I couldn't come up with one. Thinking back, I realize now that more important than the places I went were the people I met. Their open hearts touched my heart, becoming part of who I am. I am thankful for the time I have had this year, to connect - heart to heart - to so many good people.

8/22 - A very long day: It started at 2:30AM, catching a bus from Bristol to Heathrow airport. My flight from London to Denver (to visit my parents) went through Madrid and then Chicago. The first leg out of Heathrow Airport was delayed, creating quite a rush in Madrid to catch my international flight to the States. I ran through the airport to my gate, arriving during "last call." Then the flight to Chicago was also late in departing, so that I was met as I exited the plane and given an "express connection" pass, rushing me through customs and security at Chicago's O'Hare airport so I could be at the gate on time for my flight to Denver. Then there was a bus from Denver's airport to Cold Springs, where my sister Amy picked me up. All in all, it took exctly 24 hours, door-to-door.

And here I am, back in America. To tell the truth, it still feels just like traveling - new place, new people, new culture.

Quote from Wild Comfort, p. 69-70: ""I am sure of this much, that Earth lights these small signal fires - not for us, but among us - and we can find them if we look. If we are not afraid, if we can keep our balance, if we let our anxious selves dissolve into the beauties and mysteries of the night, we will find a way to peace and assurance. Signal fires burn all over the land."

Last foreign personal reflection: As I feel my sense of reality dissolve around me, have faith that there are "signal fires" all around me and within me. Nothing dies, just dissolves and reforms into something else. My responsibility is to take each step into the fog consciously, with as much self awareness as I am, with my senses and my heart wide open to appreciate the beauties and mysteries all around me, within me.

8/20: Natan and Ultimate Frisbee

Since Natan wasn't with us in Paris, and I just got these pictures of him from the Ultimate Peace camp photographer, Ohad Segall, I thought to share them.

8/11 through 8/19: Paris

Dear blog readers, I am so sorry it has taken so long to post this latest entry, what can I say . . .

8/11: Goodbye to Karina and Georgios on Paros, Greece. What a wonderful two weeks I had with these two wonderful people.

8/12 through 8/13: The Seine, Paris, at sunrise

Paris is, in my mind, the most beautiful city I have ever been in. Everywhere you turn there is such spectacular architecture. I was here for one week in both 1983 and 1985, but remember very little from those trips, and, or course, Paris has changed so much since then. I love the little alley ways, the cute shops, the outdoor cafes. And even though French pastries are made everywhere, there is no other place where they are this delicious.

It still has delicious and very picturesque fruit markets.

Beautiful and interesting architecture

But so much is new - these smart cars are everywhere

As are these three-wheeled motorcycles (I like to think of them as tricycles).

There are so many motorcycles in the city - all shapes and sizes.

This was very cool - the city has invested in bicycles which the Parisians can use - they can check them out of one station and return them to other stations. I don't know exactly how it works, but it is an effort to reduce congestion, reduce pollution, and help to create a healthier life style.

I saw a number of homeless people in Paris. During my early morning walks, I would see people going through the garbage. With my mind and heart still "in Asia," the stark difference between the rich and poor was pretty shocking as I am transitioning back to Western culture.

Reflection of a building in a building - I just liked this image.

Quote for the day: I am reading a beautiful book by Kathleen Dean Moore called Wild Comfort - The Solace of Nature, which explores the relationship between happiness and sorrow.

"Failing to notice a gift dishonors it, and deflects the love of the giver. That's what's wrong with living a careless life, storing up sorrow, waking up regretful, walking unaware. But to turn the gift in your hands, to say, this is wonderful and beautiful, this is a great gift - this honors the gift and the giver. Maybe this is what Hank has been trying to make me understand. Notice the gift. Be astonished at it. Be glad for it, care about it. Keep it in mind. This is the greatest gift a person can give in return.
"This is your work," my friend told me, "which is work of substance and prayer and wild attentiveness, which is the real deal, which is why we are here." (p. 19)

For me, the concept of "living a careless life" hit home. "Carelessness" is being sucked into the future and into the past. So how to remain conscious of the ever-flowing present, the "now" which continues to stretch from moment to moment, which is, of course, the only thing that "now" does, if you let it.

Notre Dame from the East

Notre Dame from the South

Notre Dame still

Notre Dame from the West

Close up of the beautiful stone work on Notre Dame

Eglise Saint Eustache (Notre Dame is not the only beautiful building in Paris)

Inside the church of Saint Eustache (hard to see in this small photo, but I love the image of the two people in the aisle looking up into the vastness of this space)

Sunset on the Seine

Quote from Wild Comfort, p. 36: "I confess: Wonder is easy when you travel to desert islands in search of experiences you have never imagined, in search of something you have never seen before, in search of wonder, the shock of surprise. It's easy, and maybe it's cheap. It's not what the world asks of us.

To be worthy of the astonishing world, a sense of wonder will be a way of life, in every place and time, no matter how familiar: to listen in the dark of every night, to praise the mystery of every returning day, to be astonished again and again, to be grateful with an intensity that cannot be distinguished from joy."

8/14 through 8/19: My sister-in-law Sheri and her 9-month old daughter, Poppy

For Sheri's 50th birthday, she offered to spend it with my family in Paris, so I met her in Paris. Being abroad for the past year, this was the first time I met my new niece, Poppy.

My son Noah

Sheri, and her partner, Eric, flew my wife, Christy and my son, Noah from Seattle to Paris (Natan, my younger son, opted to state in the States, for the trip to Paris coincided with a national Ultimate Frisbee tournament in Minnesota - his Seattle team lost in the finals).

Christy, Noah, Sheri and Eric at a falafel restaurant

Delicious French food - duck in honey sauce

Lamb in prune sauce

The Thinker - Rodin museum

Quote from Wild Comfort, p. 36: "And what is sand? - black urchin spines, fallen stars, unimaginable time."

Sacre Coeur church

Eiffel Tower at sunset

Quote from Wild Comfort, p. 64: "Prayer is when the night falls over thought." (by the French philosopher Alain)

Poppy - the star of the show

The sisters Christy and Sheri

Goodbye to Paris: Christy, Noah, Sheri, Eric and I - all focused on Poppy

Quote from Wild Comfort, p. 60: "I don't know any other way to move through darkness, but to put one foot ahead of the other and listen for the exact sound of our footsteps."

Sometimes this is where I feel that I am - in the darkness. There is no light illuminating the path ahead. At each foot step a multitude of paths exist. At each foot step a multitude of paths disappear. But what else to do other than keep on walking, trying to be as conscious as I can with each step.