as much as i can hold

“And I will go on making small promises to myself in the meanwhile: I will walk every day in between the trees, I will make some celebration, I will love without fear, I will create beautiful things, I will be unafraid to fly, I will move and speak and live deliberately…My promises stretch out and out sometimes past the horizon of possibility, and often at the end of the day it seems I’ve never walked as far as I thought I could. I get discouraged and wake up tired in the morning. But I go on making promises, because the sunrise is so beautiful, and those three stars are still shining so brightly, and the birds are begining to sing, you can hear them even over the whine of the highway. In spite of myselfI feel the embers of hope and I think, well maybe I could make it just to the end of the road, after all.”

--excerpt from Off the Map

I had some well-spent hours with a fellow explorer last night, sharing adventure stories and pouring over guidebooks. Thank you, Nelly.