the zen master wu li, upon achieving enlightenment, said this to his disciples: “before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. after enlightenment, chop wood and carry water.” to disperse all possessions and travel the world with no agenda, merely to experience the moments that are life—that is the way of the warrior, the path of peace.

the trip, part driving through the world with my hair on fire, part escape from portland, is not really about a destination, but when i arrive in san carlos, mexico, today, i feel as though i am arriving at a place that is calling me. beckoning, with the bright turquoise of the sea of cortez, warm to the touch, salty to the taste, the hills and peaks surrounding the town, nestled away along a cove and among the wilds of the mexican desert.

millions of stars looking down upon me, the waves touching the shore just feet away from where i lay in a portable house on beachfront property. breath synchronized with the waves, heartbeat, and drum. pulsations of the body are the currents of the ocean. above all watches the moon. guardian of the night, beacon to the light, la luna.

“Anything less than the whole forms part of the picture only, and the infinite whole is unknowable except by being it, by living into it.” so wrote mr. steinbeck upon journeying through these waters and lands—the same waters and lands that i journeyed through for three endless months.