home at last

I'm baaaack! Well, let's just say I'm back home physically following the trip of a lifetime with my daughters to Italy and Switzerland, even though part of me is still there...mentally, emotionally, and spiritually...still overawed by the immense beauty of the Alps, and the expansive wilderness that felt like home to me, at last.

"The mountains are calling,

and I must go."

~John Muir~

I decided not to post a whole gallery of photos (I have hundreds of them...) because, as we all know, the pictures we take never seem to capture the grandeur of the reality we are witnessing. They don't reflect the emotions we feel in that place, at that moment. They serve as tokens of our experience, but don't resonate with others the way they do for us. 

"The wilderness is healing,

a therapy for the soul."

~Nicholas Kristoff~

Meaning, you must experience it for yourself. You must go. 

Here is my advice:

• While you're thinking about where you'd like to go, save your money. Pass on the latest fashion trends and high tech gadgets. Instead, invest wisely so when the opportunity arises, you can afford to go without scrimping or feeling guilty about it.
• Go when you're still young enough and strong enough to do and see everything you'd hoped for. Before you lose your chance.
• Go with people you love.
• Be flexible. Welcome whatever unfolds as part of the adventure.
• Consider a one-way ticket. You may want to stay there. Forever.

"Keep close to Nature's heart...

break clear away once in a while,

and climb a mountain or spend a week

in the woods.

Wash your spirit clean."

~John Muir~

Remember:

"Not all who wander are lost."

~JRR Tolkien~

jan