Two photos in one day!!

I saw this little girl on the streets of Athens, in Greece. She was so cute. It just broke my heart the way that she played her accordian to an almost deserted street. When you read the guidebooks they worn you that children make some of the best thieves because they are dexterious and non-threatening, and I can see why it would be so hard to suspect such a child. I personally love children; I love their faces; and the wisdom and the innocence in her eyes.

Walls. We build so many structures that we don't even think about what is that a wall actually does and what it can mean. Walls protect us, they divide us from wind, weather, and each other. So one thing I noticed when I was in Israel was how important there walls are. The first photo is of a woman crying at the Western wall. It is also called the wailing wall. There is a very good reason for this: people while praying and sobbing to the wall. It is strange that the place that is considered the most sacred sight in all of the Jewish Faith, but it so public outside surrounded by tourist. That is how they pray. They go to the Platform of what was once Solomon's Temple and they pray, in most Jewish person can not go to the Temple mount. Because that is where the Dome of the Rock in and also because they don't want to be stepping were the "holy of holies" was. On top of this temple platform yards away from the most sacred sight in the Jewish belief is the 3rd most sacred sight in the Muslim community. So they stay at the wall.



The next photo shows the wall between Palenstine and Israel it is a stark contrast to the first wall. This is a photo of the wall that at one level stops war. Since it's construction suicide bombing have completely dropped away.

Fear

The tiny gray dot in this photo is me. Last January, I guess January of 2010. I faced one of my absolute biggest fears is heights. I am petrified, if you could see my face you could see the fear in my eyes. But in the end I survived, the tiny thin piece of canvas supported our combined weight. So this photo is about living your life in spite of your fears and that is why I like it.

Day 2-photo challenge

A friend of mine. She has been posting photos one everyday for a month. I have really enjoyed it. So I am going to try and do the same. So this is my day 2. This photo is of me atop a rock formation at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado. Which is this extremely beautiful free park in Colorado Springs that is nestled right at the base of Pike's Peak. It is one of the few places that gives me a tremendous sense of peace. Garden of the Gods is where I go to walk and listen to music or run along the cement paths or scramble with friend up past the signs prohibiting our climbing. It is a place that I love and it reminds me of why I love that great state of Colorado.

This specific photo was taken by a friend of mine. Who is now serving his mission in California. He took this great photo of me. In my mind I was thinking about eating the sun/sky. I know that does not make a whole lot of sense, but one of my favorite lines in the movie "It is a Wonderful Life" is when he offers Mary, his love, interest the moon. Now obviously he is being metaphorical, but the best part is when she asks what she will do with the moon. He tells her to swallow it. That it would shoot out her fingernails and the tips of her hair. It is I think one of the most romantic movie lines ever. It is literally an offering of a world-a planet. Anyway it got me thinking about the sun.

The sun is this giant ball of plasma that is responsible for all life on earth in some way or another. Many ancient cultures worshipped the sun. In fact human, and animals have been sacrificed to worship the sun. To keep it alive. So when I perched a top that rock on a perfect Colorado day I threw back my head to try and draw some of the power in. Here it is me swallowing the sun:

I have been thinking

I thought long and hard about whether or not I want to continue this blog. See I have now moved back into the states. I live in a flat in Santa Monica. I am no longer traveling that grand adventure is over and I felt that I should perhaps also allow this blog to conclude with it. But I have been thinking about my trip and I have come to realize something. Since I was a little girl it had always been a dream of mine to travel. When we would be on road trips or in the car for so long it was my daydream. Well that and a handsome prince, but we can't win them all.
Anyway now that I had seen a fruition of this dream 2 things have happened. One I realize how much and how gorgeous the world is and how much I love seeing it. The second thing I realized is that my life and adventures have not ceased simply because I achieved a childhood dream at 24. Instead I have come to understand that life is a long serious of trips. That traveling is about choices as well as personality. Europe is wonderful because it is so ancient and so diverse. It has a history that spans hundreds of years, when in the US most of houses are around 30 years old. The US is young and we don't really understand ancient at least not in the same way. Our towns were built for cars and our country has a lot of elbow room. But what the truly amazing thing about this entire conglomeration of experience over the last year is that I am constantly struck by how universal people are. I have lived in all these places and we all are very much the same. We feel fear, pain, emptiness, and we seek joy, love and safety. So any followers or readers who have managed to survive the substantial droughts in my writing: here we go again: