300 Days of Sunshine

This was my first Thanksgiving in Santa Fe!   As I sit here listening to Christmas music and drinking Caribou blend coffee, I reflect on how truly thankful I am for my life.   I’m so blessed to have such an amazing family.   Even though we are all spread out between the Midwest, Southwest, and Gulf coast, the times we are all together are my favorite days of the year.   I’m grateful for all my loyal friends – those whom I’ve known for years, and those I just met recently; those whom I talk to on a regular basis, and the ones who I just don’t call enough but am reminded of constantly; those who know all of my secrets, and the ones who are just a blast and never fail to make me laugh; the friends I’ve made here in Santa Fe, and those far away, who I don’t see nearly as much as I’d like to, but when we do get together it feels that hardly any time has passed. I’m thankful for my incredible job, which provides me with everything I could have asked for at this poi...

I attended a yoga class this week on 11.11.11.   Besides the amusement of writing out the date, and the dance of the tongue saying “eleven eleven eleven,” what’s the importance of 11.11.11 anyway?   The instructor explained that the significance lies in the fact that the day is made up entirely of ones.   Oneness.   One is all and all is one.   The idea that every being on the planet is connected.   Oneness is a difficult concept for me to grasp because I can’t seem to get past the notion that we are all separate beings, moving and working independently, often unaware of our connections to the world, focused to a greater extent on the future and the past rather than the present.   Yet I feel an overwhelming sense of purposefulness, energy, and joy in the moments in which “oneness” with the world is apparent, in those experiences when people of different backgrounds and personalities are united toward the same common purpose, even if for a short ...

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.” ~Robert Frost At 12,622 feet, Santa Fe Baldy is the highest point in Santa Fe, and one of the most challenging day hikes in the area.   We had some inclement weather in Santa Fe this week, including a few inches of snow yesterday, but I had been looking forward to this hike for weeks and was determined to embrace whatever conditions we discovered and give it my all (even if shoe chains were necessary). The dusting of snow on the trail and trees created a peaceful, serene, meditative atmosphere for the first few miles of our hike.   My spirits were high and I was amazed at the stillness and beauty of the winter-like environment.   At times the only audible sounds were the crunching of snow under our feet, the swishing of our layers of warm clothes, and the deep inhale and exhale of our lungs.   I was surprised to see another ...