Taking time to look around

One of the gifts this sabbatical brings is the gift of time.  I was reminded of that this morning in my yoga class.  My teacher, Susan, kept reminding us that we needed to practice letting go in order to allow new things into our lives.  I think that is what having time that is not dedicated to program administration and leadership will bring to me.  I am going to be using my phone/camera to record some of the things we see on the trip.  I practice noticing the world around me by taking pictures of what I see while walking around Bellingham with my dogs and with friends.  I live in a beautiful city that is filled with unexpected art.  I am often pleased by what I find and return to visit the places that inspire me to think about my life in metaphorical and realistic terms.  I am sharing some of these photos today as a reminder to myself that beauty surrounds us if we look for it.

The first set of photos are taken at a small breakfast place in the more industrial part of my neighborhood.  Each time I walk down to see Velveeta Jones (yes, that is the name of the chicken at the Home Skillet restaurant) I see something new and I walk away with a smile and a lighter step.

One of the things I want to ask myself as I visit Arizona and California and some of the places we will go to look at immigration issues is where can people go to smile and enjoy being alive?  I know not everything will be easy and fun either so I will want to capture the hard places too.  I know I will be visiting the actual border between Mexico and the United States near Nogales AZ and we will walk the border as part of our Immigration Justice journey.  I expect to see graves and lost parts of peoples lives and shed tears.  Where will the beauty and the hope be for me?  Time will tell.

A friend and I walk regularly in her neighborhood in Bellingham and I am always inspired by the garden art.  I thought I would post two photos today from that garden.

This garden always asks me the question, "How do I see the world?"  "What lens do I use to make sense of the world or to add beauty to life around me? " This garden is never the same.  I will think of it as I travel and consider the frames in which the people I encounter see the world.

I think I will start to write about the trip we are planning in the next blog.

Thanks for reading.

Drew