Welcome to this month's edition of Adventurous Life!
In this issue:
I welcome your thoughts, feedback & suggestions for stories.
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Lacey pillows of snow arch over my head on ladders of deep green pine. The sun, low in the sky even though it's only noon, twinkles between pen-and-ink outlines of trees. I am hiking alone (okay, with the dog) with a 50-pound pack, snowshoes, and a foot of fresh powder to slow me down.
Luckily, I don't have far to go. A couple of hours uphill and I stop at a designated camp site. No one has been there since the snowfall, so I stamp down a space for the tent and establish camp. With a (much) lighter pack, I set off for a nearby peak.
The sun has reached an angle that turns each snow flake on every branch into a miniature prism. The world sparkles. An hour of scrambling up steep slopes -- my reverie punctuated at random intervals by the dog's grinning face as he bounds back to check on my progress -- ends with a sudden disappearance of trees.
The dog falls in behind me as I pick my way across an arctic lunar landscape, pulling my hood tight against the sudden and bitter wind. The sun is dropping below taller peaks behind me, while the full moon rises like a milky bubble over the summit. In the teeth of the wind, I pause. I am here. I am alive. I am utterly content.
When was the last time you truly stopped to look at the nature around you? Whether it's birds at your neighbor's feeder or snow softening the stark geometry of naked tree limbs, take a moment this month to stop getting somewhere else and just be where you are.
Pressed for Time? Feeling Far from Loved Ones?
Sometimes it's hard to find time to stay connected. Back in an earlier newsletter, I wrote a list of 10 Great Reasons to Wake Up in the Morning that included a phone date with my sister. A couple of months later, I got an e-mail from a journalist with a really great job: she does stories on social trends. Turns out I'm one of many people who schedule phone time with loved ones rather than go without. You can read Michele Melendez's article online ("Can't Connect? Make a Phone Date"), then make a date with your favorite friend or family member!
Adventurous Life Highlight: Beyond Assumptions
"I
purposely buy deformed vegetables, like tomatoes or eggplants, I find in the
supermarket. I think it's magical to eat something so imperfect from a processed
world.
A gift."
-
Gabrielle Daniels
"A City Girl Discovers the Forest"
Top 5 Ideas to Inspire You This Month
- Talk to an older person about her (or his) life -- ask if her perspective on what's important has shifted over the years, and if so, how
- Get Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and do a contour drawing (chapter 6) -- hint: your library will definitely have this book!
- Go winter camping -- even if it's "just" in your own backyard
- Lie on your back and wriggle like a puppy -- then do a few somersaults (hey, who's watching?)
- Go visit a site or do something "only tourists do" in your city or town
"At some point you have to move through the world with confidence, and
it's never gonna be based on complete information."
- Anna Desnick
Atsuko Suda is one of those people you might overlook in a crowd. She dresses conservatively -- no outlandish fashion symbols draw your eye. She's friendly, polite, thoughtful. Unless you engage her in conversation, you might never realize that she's a creative and spunky person who's spent almost a quarter of her young life living and traveling abroad.
About the author:
Judy Wolf is a world traveler, freelance writer, speaker, and whitewater kayak instructor. She's taken numerous, extended solo journeys around the world, traveling by foot, bus, jeep, camel, truck, boat, train, plane, elephant, and bicycle to over 30 countries on five continents. She currently lives in upstate New York with her husband and border collie, where she's working on a book-length travel narrative about her most recent adventures…that is, when she's not plunging off waterfalls or entertaining the dog.
Learn more at www.judywolf.com.
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Copyright © 2003 Judy Wolf
