3 days and 2 nights in Asheville is just what I needed. I came home more inspired, encouraged, and restored than ever.
We laughed a lot, we didn’t sleep much, and most of all, we ate. And we ate really well and stayed full. I feel that I’m still stuffed from the weekend!
I know with a certain level of conviction that there are two places on earth that I belong — New Zealand and Asheville — and I cannot see that ever changing.
More photos coming soon!
So close to the end of other things right now. Today has been the kind of day where everything seems possible again. Maybe it is the good night’s sleep, the productive morning, the sun (*finally out to play), or some Haim at work . . . but, today is going to be good. The hard work and the long days are finally starting to pay off.
That’s all.
(Old photo –> re-liked: Pancake rocks, New Zealand)
Muscle of Difficulty
November’s clench. A sullen band
of cloud is louring in the West—
a low forehead, a corrugated frown.
Behind it comes the cold drop of frost
and autumn’s first hard night.Corrugator—the tightening band
over the forehead’s bone,
the ‘muscle of difficulty,’
of concentration, effort, of leaning in
to frigid wind.I lean into this coming season
of difficulty, when the sun
will struggle to raise its head
above the angle of sunset,
its bleak obliquity.November’s forehead wears
scoured furrow, tension.
Forgets joy, the orbicular crinkle
of eye, those other muscles
to be strengthened.I think of squinting into the ache
of snow, corrugated tracks.
Facing into November, I find it
difficult to anticipate
consolations—the warmth of small, enclosed spaces,
the candles of memory
at its center. How can this ever be
enough? I fear too much.
The losses. Isolation.– Alice Major
Amirah in Oz asked me to think of the best places I lived in//visited in NZ and it brought back a flood of good memories. That, and a good conversation on bleachers about how NZ is the greatest place on earth, has had me thinking a good deal about NZ again.
I went through old photos and found these.
Gorgeous, crazy, stupid colorful NZ. I love that place and the life I lived there. Funny to think how different I feel now. I’m stable. Content being here and most of all passionate about things beyond just places alone. It is so easy in a place like NZ to feel constantly and unbelievably excited//inspired by your surroundings, but I’m finding that is possible in most any place. Yes, even here. Even in Carrboro.
It is fun to revisit this place through pictures and words and even more to realize that beauty exists like this. A type of beauty that is uncomfortable//distracting. A place that glows with so much color its frightening.
[Photos: The impossible beauty of the Milford sounds, NZ//Grace Farson]
The other day, I sat down to journal and. . . like most days, all that came out was a list.
I wrote down these three things:
+ College is mean. Students are constantly being tempted by all the possibilities. . .nothing ever feels enough. One could always be doing something more, something bigger, something more unique. . .
+ I got lost a lot today and it was the best thing that happened to me. I got lost and truly savored the experience. I first got lost in my car, drove through a forest, parked illegally and ran through the woods, over railroad tracks, dirtying my shoes and stumbling into a new classroom. . .into a new space and a room full of brilliant, creative souls.
+ Today, I felt total weightlessness for the first time. My amazing Comm//Performance class this semester, gave me the chance to fly.
“Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back. That’s part of what it means to be alive. But inside our heads – at least that’s where I imagine it – there’s a little room where we store those memories. A room like the stacks in this library. And to understand the workings of our own heart we have to keep on making new reference cards. We have to dust things off every once in awhile, let in fresh air, change the water in the flower vases. In other words, you’ll live forever in your own private library.” – Haruki Murakami
This semester is going to one trying, challenging and hopefully rewarding time in my life.
Here’s to two jobs, six classes and everything in between. I’m working to find that lovely balance between making money, being a student, making art and creating and spending time with loved ones. . .
For now, I’m surviving. I’m happy and I’m full.
[Photo: NZ walks//Grace Farson]
Today is far from perfect, but I’m feeling the overwhelming need to stay positive and remain motivated. Nothing in life ever really works out as you expect. . .
“I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.” – e. e. Cummings
[Photo: Fjordland, New Zealand //Grace Farson]
I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for ages now. I’m just so thrilled it’s finally here!
Later this afternoon, I’m off to the mountains of Virginia for Kelsey’s bachelorette weekend. I’m beyond excited to have a long weekend AND celebrate K AND her upcoming wedding!
“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.” – The Dalai Lama XIV
If only!
[Photo: Somewhere in NZ, 2011 // Grace Farson]
tt, juju, & i are off to the beach for the weekend.
the seven hour ride will be filled with mini sewing projects, photo editing and lots of reading {and a good book on tape}. i’ve got lots of new things to share, but it will have to wait until next time!
here’s to the last happy days of summer before the real madness begins all over again:
+ a new song to love
+ a new blog to love
+ a new quote to love:
“it’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
– paul coelho
{photo: a beach somewhere in new zealand}
GRACE FARSON 