I returned March 19 from a three-month sojourn in the foothills of the Andes of northern Ecuador, Land of the Eternal Springtime, renewed in body, mind, and spirit. I wrote photo-journals (Spark blogs #1-#8, Ecuador, 2013) offering a glimpse of my travels.

~I weighed in at 144 March 20 upon my return, having weighed 147 Dec 28, just before leaving the U.S. Though I need to lose 14 more pounds, it's encouraging that I gained none and lost a little (walking pays off)!

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I returned March 19 from a three-month sojourn in the foothills of the Andes of northern Ecuador, Land of the Eternal Springtime, renewed in body, mind, and spirit. I wrote photo-journals (Spark blogs #1-#8, Ecuador, 2013) offering a glimpse of my travels.

~I weighed in at 144 March 20 upon my return, having weighed 147 Dec 28, just before leaving the U.S. Though I need to lose 14 more pounds, it's encouraging that I gained none and lost a little (walking pays off)!

~I'll complete BA degree requirements in Spanish language studies Dec, 2013, because of this winter's trip

~I adore adventure and authentic friendships and seek both out

~During my travels, I have had the joy to meet, and in many cases stay with, the first 4 rows of my SparkFriends, plus SPARKGUY Chris Downie during my years on SP. I've tried to post each one in the chronological order that we met.

~I am committed to optimal body*mind*spirit health to help attune me to that "still small voice" within that is signaling the way to the next signpost on the Path. In the meantime, I intend to...

"...have patience with everything unresolved in my heart, and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language, not searching for the answers, which could not be given to me now because I would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now." (Rainer Maria Rilke)

~The shape my life will morph into in the foreseeable future is a mystery -- I'm trying to "live the questions now" with grace, letting go of all anxiety about the future. Oh, and anyway T. S. Eliot tells us...

"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."

Bottom line in all of this is:

"Don't take life too serious -- it's all just so mysterious!"
-- George Gershwin

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And here's more "kitchen table" wisdom:

Your personal history is not your true identity. Don't let the past define who you are.
-- Eckhart Tolle
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Live in rooms full of light
Avoid heavy food
Be moderate in the drinking of wine
Take massage, baths, exercise, and gymnastics
Fight insomnia with gentle rocking or the sound of running water
Change surroundings and take long journeys
Strictly avoid frightening ideas
Indulge in cheerful conversation and amusements
Listen to music
-- Aulus Cornelius Celsus (50-25 BC), Physician
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My actions are my true belongings. They are the ground on which I stand.
-- Thich Nhat Hanh, The Fifth Remembrance
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CARPE MOMENTUM! (Seize the moment!)
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Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
-- Mahatma Gandhi
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barn's burnt down;
now I can see
the moon
-- Masahide
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Usually we think that brave people have no fear.
The truth is they are intimate with fear.
-- Pema Chodron
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If you can change your mind, you can change your life.
-- William James
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Where attention goes, energy flows.
-- James Redfield
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Choices are the hinges of destiny.
-- Pythagoras
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Self-conquest is the greatest of victories.
-- Plato
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Strength does not come from physical capacity.
It comes from an indomitable will.
-- Mahatma Gandhi
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He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.
-- Lao Tzu
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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit
-- Aristotle
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We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
-- The Buddha
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Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.
-- Bob Marley, Redemption Song
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The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.
-- Marcus Aurelius
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The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are.
-- Marcus Aurelius
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Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
-- Plato
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If the only prayer you ever say is "thank you,"
that would suffice.
-- Meister Eckhart
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We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.
-- Cynthia Ozick
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To lengthen thy life,
lessen thy meals.
-- Benjamin Franklin
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Never eat more than you can lift.
-- Miss Piggy
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It's better to start at night than not at all!
AND
Losing weight is hard; maintaining is hard; pick your hard.
-- www.WeightWatchers.com Vegetarian Board friends
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Procrastination is, hands down, our favorite form of self-sabotage.
-- Alyce P. Cornyn-Selby
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