Far & Wise Blog

Three Handwritten Morning Pages

When I began reading The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron, I also began her recommended daily practice of writing morning pages. Since then, a little more than 6 months have past, and morning pages have become a key part of my life. I’ve become accustomed to waking up early each morning to write three pages longhand straight from my stream of consciousness, for my eyes only.

They’re intended to be as whiny or petty or angry as they need to be that day. (And sometimes they are.) Whatever comes out, no judgment. Getting all that crap down on the page and off your mind is the goal. It lets you get on with the rest of your day and your creative endeavors without all that weighing on you.

To say that they’ve changed my life isn’t hyperbole at all.

Wisdom for New Beginnings

As you consider the year ahead, maybe making New Year’s resolutions, maybe not, I thought I’d share a poem that’s meant a lot to me this year. I’ve read it many, many times over the course of the year as I’ve made some big changes in my life and will continue to do so as…

A Grand Canyon Sunset at Mather Point

On our last night in the canyon before heading back to solid cell service and reality via Phoenix, we decided to postpone dinner to watch the lingering sunset at Mather Point. Having spent four days in the bottom of the canyon away from the crowds, we didn’t mind enjoying the sunset with throngs of other tourists at Mather Point — the first viewpoint you can stop at from the South Rim entrance of the national park. I came to the Grand Canyon as someone who wasn’t automatically moved by this desert landscape. My one previous visit had been a quick, wave-at-the-canyon kind of trip. So this time I wanted to understand what all the fuss was about.

Hiking Below the Rim in Havasupai

“When a great adventure is offered, you don’t refuse it.” ~ Amelia Earhart

When a good friend suggested I join her on a backpacking trip into the Grand Canyon on our shared birthday, I jumped at the chance. It was just what I was looking for — a refreshingly a new type of adventure.

This was my first backpacking trip, sleeping in tents and going without showers for four days. Right from the get-go, Teri told me the trip would involve carrying 30-35 lb packs on the 10 mile hike from the trailhead down to the campground and back up the canyon walls, an elevation of more than 2000 feet. Then she gushed about how excited she was to see Havasu Falls and how she’d been wanting to take this trip for 20 years. I knew exactly nothing about Havasupai and Havasu Falls.

Everyday Thankfulness

Spending Thanksgiving in San Francisco this year meant less time devoted to travel and much more downtime. Last weekend that led to catch-up phone calls with family across the country and lots time for reflection, almost an early year-end review.

Early in the year, I started keeping track of what I was grateful for using an app called Lift. I really enjoyed the act of stopping for a moment (often on the bus) to think about what I was grateful for on that day, in that exact moment. I didn’t over think it either. It was more of a stream of consciousness exercise.

Somehow, I’ve kept up the habit for most of the year with intermittent streaks of more than 30 days in a row. (Right now, I’m on day 34 of a new streak!) It hadn’t occurred to me when I started doing this how much fun it would be to look back on the year through this lens.

A Recipe for Life

I came across this passage in one of the last chapters of An Everlasting Meal. I love the reminder to make dinner guests a part of the process, consciously leaving your list unfinished and putting the connection gained through combined effort first.

The recipes in this book are secondary. (I mostly skimmed over them.) They’re not an after thought, but they’re also not the point. Learning how to feed ourselves well and intuitively from whatever’s around is the author’s point. The writing is beautifully layered, and it evokes so much more than just cooking and eating.

Why I Travel

There’s a fine line between scary and exciting. The first feeling that starts to bubble up in the pit of your stomach is the same, but it can easily go either way from there.

I say that I travel to see and learn about new places, immerse myself in a new culture, and meet interesting new people. That’s all true. I’d happily travel around the world just to see a beautiful piece of art or to try a specific dish in the region where it’s originally made, but my real motivations are much deeper than that.

Looking Forward

I love solid, actionable advice, the kind I read and excitedly think to myself, “This is great. I can use this!” That’s exactly what I thought when I came across a blog post by Jeff Goins called The Secret to Having a Marriage That Never Goes Stale. While I’m not married or currently in a…

A Summer Weekend in Tahoe

After two failed attempts, I finally made it to Tahoe last weekend. It was beginning to get embarrassing to have to admit that I hadn’t been yet, after two full years of living in San Francisco. The disbelief in people’s eyes was genuine (a bit ridiculous, but genuine), and I was excited to finally see…

My Portland Favorites

It’s not hard to like Portland. It’s almost automatic actually. Even if you never leave downtown, the people are incredibly friendly, the food is great (more on that), and there’s never a dull moment. If you do happen to leave the city and venture out to enjoy some of the beautiful scenery nearby, you may never want to…