high sierra trail | question certainty

before i left for the sierras, i made a comment about a certain photo of a women wearing her bikini on top of mount whitney. i said (rather judgmentally) that i "certainly won't be wearing my bikini when i summit." 


well, i'm happy to report that attitudes change. and in fact, opposing opinions can easily turn into inspiration if we let go our our egos and remain curious. yes! that is me plus six others in our underwear on top of mt. whitney!!

my friends and i agreed to strip down to our underwear/bikinis when we arrived at the summit. in fact, our two new friends scott & alisa (dad & daughter thru hikers) were open to the idea as well. so when we all reached the summit, we looked at each other and said, "are we really doing this?!" there was an unsaid excitement in the air as we quickly stripped down in the cold. we recruited a lady walking around in her green puffy jacket to take our pictures while a 15-person boy scout troup we yo-yoed with during the trip, hooted & hollered in the background. 


my lesson learned is to consider my certainties....and to re-consider them.


maybe my no or yes can turn into inspiration for saying yesyesyes! or nonono! maybe in re-considering the things i'm absolutely certain - even judgemental - about can be a source for whimsy and inspiration, that i can even invite friends (and strangers) to take part in. maybe it's a source for creating those unforgettable moments that break us out of what we think we know in order to experience something we wouldn't have even considered. maybe it's a catalyst for stepping more and more into being alive. and certainly...it's a source for immense fun!  ;-)

unexpected inspiration & illumination

this afternoon ::
followed my gut and went to a satellite workshop for monotation.
connected with a stranger, who i now call friend.
walked around the temescal neighborhood of oakland.
gained insight about myself by the pictures i took.
bought oversized letters that spell 'eat.'
visited the lovely bakesale betty.

what we did ::
walk around and take pictures of stuff that captured my attention
reflected on what these images evoked, specifically in one word
then, i came home and edited these and stamped a word into the image
i was surprised by the themes that emerged out of the collection of images.

here are some of my favorites from today ::
(feel free to comment on which ones you resonate with and why or if you could name it something different, what you would name the image - using only one word).