Fire is the element of vitality and passion. It springs up fast and wild, and needs to be fueled to remain bright. It's symbolic of energy, creation, and transformation. This has been a summer of transformation, and I feel myself burning wild and bright! Within...
Deep fissures carve their way into my heart from watching the aftermath of destruction in Nepal, as well as from exhuming my own past. Two years this week since Nepal’s devastating earthquakes, and so many people still living in dire conditions. The government...
A year since the Nepal earthquake, and I am finally feeling like myself again, feeling whole again. Healing is a slow process. At first I didn’t even realize how broken I was. My focus was entirely outward—on the safety and care of the clients I needed to...
In a time where my sadness seems to grow deeper by the day, what gives me the greatest hope in Nepal are its savvy youth, coming of age, coming together. After I reached Kathmandu, after I saw every last client safely on a flight home, my attention turned to a broader...
By horse, by jeep, by plane, and by feet…halfway around this wild and beautiful earth, deep into the Himalayas, and then back again. Just in time to celebrate Dasain in Nepal before catching a flight. Hello sweet San Francisco! Home. Friends Parshu and...
Rain pours from the sky all night, and I wake up in Nepal. Trek logistics, meeting staff, drinking tea--a day is consumed and the rains drum all night again. Jewelry purchasing, nonprofit meetings, catching up with friends, and the relentless monsoon continues. After...
Suddenly my life exploded. Within one month of returning to San Francisco in May, I sat a 5-day silent meditation retreat, bought a home, and moved…in addition to working with my business clients, meeting friends, celebrating birthdays, returning to yoga, and dancing...
Nepalis generally don't hesitate to state the obvious with friends and family -- and they're rather observant. They greet me and appraise with me (with affection). If I've gained weight since my last visit, they tell me I'm a little fatter than last year. If I've...
Reposting with photos corrected... Spring comes, and I begin my regular pilgrimage towards the highest peaks on earth. About 35 hours from home on one side of the planet to a hotel on the other. Across the ocean, time pauses in Hong Kong airport. Layovers are like...
The streets of Kathmandu are entirely empty at 11pm when I arrive, and you might think it a peaceful town. In the morning, the mayhem returns--horns beeping and blaring, bells ringing, motorcycles revving, pressure cookers hissing, hawkers calling out, children...
It's a whole new day. I cut further south to cross the Sierras on a more reliable road and return to the land of trees. In arid lands, they call this a tree: In lands abundant with water, we call this a tree: The transition between the two today is marked by a valley...
This is not good. This is a picture of little Santa Fe stuck on a patch of ice. After dark. In the Sequoia wilderness. In my defense, I wasn't careless in heading down this road. It was well-marked on the map, crosses through the National Forest, and had no signs...