Somewhere around 2010 I went to an evening celebrating the anniversary of the massive eruption of Mt. St. Helens that took place in 1980. There were three speakers at the event. Gary Snyder, Ursula Le Guin and a scientist whose name escapes me, but who had worked at the blast zone since the eruption.
The evening was memorable for the very different and personal accounts of Mt. St. Helens that the three speakers brought. I remember Ursula Le Guin speaking about watching the eruption from her house in Portland, Oregon.
🏝️ I drove up to my acupuncture appointment this morning with the windows open instead of the A/C on, enjoying the tropical smells and humidity of the island.
🏝️ I drove up to my acupuncture appointment this morning with the windows open instead of the A/C on, enjoying the tropical smells and humidity of the island.
The air, the landscape was so still and quiet this morning. You’ll probably have to turn up the volume to hear the bird song in the recording below.
🥵 After the dry heat of Europe, I forgot how hot & humid Maui can be. My gratitude for the Trade Winds that keep the islands cooler than they might otherwise be.
🥵 After the dry heat of Europe, I forgot how hot & humid Maui can be. My gratitude for the Trade Winds that keep the islands cooler than they might otherwise be.
🙉 As we make our way back home, I find myself wanting to push back on the familiar sights, sounds and stimuli that are returning to us, and instead hold onto the tastes and experiences that the last three months have brought.
Letting go is not always easy.
🙉 As we make our way back home, I find myself wanting to push back on the familiar sights, sounds and stimuli that are returning to us, and instead hold onto the tastes and experiences that the last three months have brought.
Letting go is not always easy.
🛫 We will soon be taking off from Barcelona airport. San Francisco next stop. Starting the journey home…though I’m starting to wonder where that is right now?!
🛫 We will soon be taking off from Barcelona airport. San Francisco next stop. Starting the journey home…though I’m starting to wonder where that is right now?!
🛌 My bed wouldn’t let me get up this morning. At least that is my excuse and I’m sticking with it.
🛌 My bed wouldn’t let me get up this morning. At least that is my excuse and I’m sticking with it.
Monday 24 June, 2024 Dear Friends,
Welcome to my newsletter coming to you from Barcelona. Last night was noise, noise, noise as Barcelona celebrated the Summer Solstice. I am writing this at eight o’clock on Monday morning and the fireworks only stopped going off a couple of hours ago.
After almost three months in Europe, I’ll be starting my journey back to Maui on Wednesday. I’ll be sad to leave.
🎆 Fireworks are going off all around us tonight as Barcelona celebrates the Summer Solstice and the lead up to the Festival of Sant Joan (St. John).
🎆 Fireworks are going off all around us tonight as Barcelona celebrates the Summer Solstice and the lead up to the Festival of Sant Joan (St. John).
Moon rise this evening near to Cadaqués.
Outdoor spaces at Salvador Dali’s house in Portlligat, Spain.
Manuel Moreale’s recent post on Celebrating Failure resonated with me. I’ve read it a few times now.
You can ingest only so many success stories before starting to feel bad for not being one of them. It’s partly why social media mostly sucks. It’s performative. Everyone is showing the best parts of their lives while the shitty moments are kept private, away from public eyes.
At times I feel as though the online world shows so much of the celebratory fun and fireworks - holding a hand up to recognize that I get sucked into doing that. But perhaps sadly, life isn’t always about celebration. There is grind, suck and failure.
If I don’t share failure or struggle, some comes from wanting to keep things private, other comes from shame.
🌧️ We are waking up to a wet morning, the first for a long time. Gentle drizzle accompanying the sounds of small waves breaking. A quick glance at the weather forecast says that we won’t be going far for the next few hours.
