what rocks tell us.

at joshua tree national park, i met this guy. 
he doesn't seem very satisfied with life. 

no need to be mysterious.

i'm in new york. right now. & a thought randomly came into my head some time between landing at jfk and eating a burger at shake shack.

it's this: no one needs to try to be mysterious. we are all mysterious by nature. it's part of being human. i think the goal in life is not to hide, but rather, to reveal ourselves - to let ourselves be seen.

quote | pause to wonder

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead, his eyes are closed.
Albert Einstein

saying goodbye.

this morning, i realized one thing that's hard about saying goodbye to someone: it's closing all doors to the possibilities of creating life with that person.

death is a deeply saddening and perspective-shaping process. i am feeling so very humbled by it. 

i didn't know

...that it was possible to experience this kind of well of emotion for someone. loving, and being loved, is tremendous in the most wonderfully natural way. 
i love you.

em + david | meant to be.

i haven't done an engagement session in forever, by pure intention. but, when my friend em asked if i would do an engagement session with them, i knew i would make an exception. and i'm so glad i said yes. 

what struck me most about this session was how beautiful emily was in my eyes. the best part is that i'm not the one who's marrying her. david is. and i can't even imagine how stunning she is in his eyes. how one sees their beloved is a such a deep magical experience. 

it was clear to me the well of love that flows between these two. i hope you see it too. (and isn't em just gorgeous? wow!)

 

 

 
to a very happy beginning and the journey of a lifetime. 
love you guys!

(& a special thank you to my love, samuel, for carrying a heavy bag and coming alongside to play. xo)

quote | the desert way of being

after i posted my last bit on joshua tree, this quote landed in my inbox:

The wilderness is not just a desert through which we wandered for forty years. It is a way of being. A place that demands being open to the flow of life around you. A place that demands being honest with yourself without regard to the cost in personal anxiety. A place that demands being present with all of yourself.

Lawrence Kushner

johua tree | following the light

after tedactive, i spent a couple days in joshua tree to decompress from an exhausting/energizing week. i went from spending 24/5 with 800 people to the solitude of the desert. it was the perfect way to bookend such a powerful week of inspiration, ideas, paradigm shifts and relational progress. i went from listening to people talk (and talking myself) to spending most of my time quietly being and listening to the presence of the desert.

the ted conference teaches me that humans have a tremendous capacity to discover and articulate the mysteries of and "solutions" for this world. it's blown my mind at times. but, in its silence, the wilderness articulates this world's truths by simply being itself. it's been preparing its "18-minute talk" since the beginning of time and has always been open source for anyone who wants to listen. the wilderness invites me to be with, not needing to be anyone else but me. i don't have to show it my resume or list my accolades or tell her who i know. she invites me to show up simply as i am. it's there i remember that i am beloved in all the world, to the Creator of it all.



perhaps that's why i love being in the wilderness so much.