Encountering the Bigness of Beauty
This entry was posted on 1/16/2010 12:00 PM and is filed under Semester at Sea.
Landscape is the firstborn of creation. It is the most ancient presence in the world , though it needs a human presence to acknowledge it. John O'Donohue
View from our ship of Ensenada
View of a wall in a store of downtown EnsenadaMy definition of beauty has expanded exponentially over the past four days, which feels like four months already. Beauty has been everything from the awkwardness of being served my food every morning, noon and night; dancing on the top of the ship and as I stretch my arms out so does the seagull right in front of me; the support of colleague's when I feel insecure and don't know what I am doing; the taste of freshly fried tortilla chips; and the fear and excitement of being in a new country. Should I eat the salsa? Should I smile at the man following me with silver chains, saying over and over, "one dollar"? When I witness new landscapes outside of me, I encounter the unfamiliar within.
I am on a journey around the world. I am grateful and I am human. I have felt everything from stark loneliness to sheer exhaustion. My feet tingled with excitement today at the thought of six hundred people boarding this ship tomorrow. I smiled tonight as I breathed in the warm air of Ensenada. I smiled when I remember that no matter what I do, or don't do, I am loved exactly as I am. And I am here to witness this beauty around me. The beauty of all of life. All of me. How fortunate I am.