On a Personal Note: "...out of hopeful green stuff woven."

Pondering in Congaree NP

While stuck in 12" of snow, I got to wondering "why am I doing this?". I put this trip together on a whim, out of necessity without much thought. As I look at it now, I realize that in one week I will integrate 90% of what is important to me.

First I am traveling, and I love to travel; to find new roads, to simply explore -- a vehicular walkabout. New places are new beginnings, new perspectives, a way of breaking out of our hardened casks, being vulnerable and ignorant, forcing us to be creative and durable.

Second, I am spending significant chunks of time in natural places. My relationship with the natural world goes back to my early childhood where I found refuge and stability, security and silence, peace and confidence. Today I feel more at home in a forest than anywhere else. And so this trip returns me to my roots and refreshes my need for balance and unity. It gives me the space I need to reflect on what is important, who I am and who I want to be.

I also love researching things that interest me and throughout my life curiosity about the natural world has been a constant focus. So by concentrating my trip on wetlands, I am in a constant state of research and learning.

And last, as an educator, by writing and sharing this journal I am contributing to a job I love and which I believe is vitally imporant.

In a nutshell, while there are some significant things missing in my life, on this trip, I have, this week, woven a colorful textile that incorporates my love of travel, my emotional well-being, my need to be close to nature, to learn and to share my life through my work.

An integrated life. Gotta love it. It feeds the soul.