Tamang Woman, Nepal Solitude


The Grand Canyon presents a mere human being with a perspective at the same time humbling and absolving.

For my 40th birthday, seven women friends and I rafted for eight days down the Colorado River, deep inside the canyon, maneuvering through the highest whitewater rapids on the North American continent. Watches were stowed away; they seemed silly in this setting. Our days were marked simply by rushes of adrenaline, and long hours for reflection.

One day I sat on a rock, thinking about my life, my future, my limitations, my aspirations. As I stared at the giant wall ahead of me, carved out over 400 million years, an airborne feathery seed from a nearby bush crossed my line of vision...and I began laughing.

There was my life, as insignificant as that speck of fluff, against the backdrop of eternity.





"Katherine on the Rocks"
USA

"Vintage Grand"
USA
"Lil"
USA

"Canyon Contrast"
USA
"The Green Hat"
Laos

"Moon Over Kodiak"
USA
"The Climb"
Nepal

"Cornfield Piety"
Laos
"Vientiane Rush Hour"
Laos

In Buddhist Nepal, the people inscribe prayers on flags, then plant them in rocks. As the wind blows, their prayers are carried to the gods in heaven. Hiking in the quiet mountains, I had plenty of time to reflect - on my values, my relationships, and the condition of the world. I don't have a prayer flag at home to carry those thoughts to God. Just my actions every day.
"Prayer Flag Tranquility"
Nepal

"Mekong Pastel"
Laos
"Soda Pop Over the Mekong"
Laos

"On My Watch"
Yemen
"Wild Gentian"
USA

In 1990, I was part of a crew on a two-week
sail around Kodiak Island, Alaska. The weather was often blustery and cold, the seas rough,
and the experience exhilarating.

We took turns steering, as deck hands, or down
in the galley. I was at the helm as we sailed past one of the most mystical sights of my life. Somehow, the water splashing up in great crashing noises seemed to be carriedby the mists into the clouds. It was dusk—at 11 p.m.

The end of another long, breathtakingly wild American day.


"Alaskan Mist"
USA

"Mekong Tranquility"
Laos
"The Library"
Italy

"Masai Mara"
Kenya
"Evening Camp"
Nepal

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