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“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.” Don Williams, Jr.
Weekly Writing Challenge: Mapping A Journey Of Love… Big Sur
A little over a year ago, I had shared a post ( Reflections: Memories Of Big Sur…) on a memorable road trip I took to Big Sur, California with my then husband to be. What made that a particularly poignant memory was the fact that it was part of a surprise marriage proposal, and my first time in California. We flew in from New York, spent time with old friends in San Francisco and Oakland, and then headed out for our destination points. Aside from our long and languid drive up the Big Sur coastline, we stopped and spent time by the ocean, at a wonderful restaurant – Nepenthe, and a few nights at The Esalen Institute. For this challenge, I mapped out the area we covered specific to our Big Sur trip, and excluded the fact that our journey, our road-trip, began in San Francisco… But I suspect you might have imagined that; we all must begin somewhere.
“The map is not the territory.” Alfred Korzybski
Weekly Writing Challenge: Mapping A Journey Of Love… Esalen
Weekly Writing Challenge: Mapping A Journey Of Love… Nepenthe
As we prepared for our trip, we asked friends for ideas and they suggested a meal at the famous Nepenthe Restaurant; a former cabin lodge set high on a hill overlooking the Big Sur coastline and the Pacific ocean. The beauty of the ocean from our high point was quite striking and it made it difficult to focus on the meal we had. I know we had seafood, salad, and probably dessert, but my heart was drawn to the ocean and that mesmerizing slice of the coastline. We spent a few nights at the Esalen Institute which was known as the Big Sur Hot Springs for several months before it became the Esalen Institute. Our quarters were elegant yet simple. The food was bountiful; an organic, vegetarian feast. What I loved about our stay at Esalen was the chance to enjoy the hot spring tubs perched on the side of the mountain, overlooking the ocean below. It was a fantastic experience… The ocean views were amazing from our outdoor dip in the hot tub. I could feel the breeze from the ocean and the occasional spray of cool ocean water; quite surreal. More below. 
Musings: Do You!
“Imitation is Suicide. Insist on yourself. Never imitate.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Musings: Do You!
What favorite quote do you return to again and again? “Imitation is Suicide. Insist on yourself. Never imitate.” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. A couple of years ago, I added a widget to my blog sidebar with the intention of regularly updating it with a quote I like. It sounded like a wonderful idea; I love quotes and could use the widget to share new ones I found. After a few months of rotating quotes on my blog, I came across the one above by Emerson and used it promptly in a post. Inspiration: To Thine Own Self Be True
I kept coming back to that quote as it spoke to me on many levels. As bloggers, it’s easy to get caught up in the razzle dazzle of other people’s blogging experience and forget why we started blogging in the first place. We forget to look at our own unique journey and find merit in it. In blogland, the road to success demands we create our niche, our path, and be brave and stand by it. There is only one copyblogger, dooce, problogger, or bloggess and all insist on playing to their strengths; to being themselves… Why settle on being an imitation? 😉 More below!
Inspiration: Angel Of Hope … And Love
“In love, unlike most other passions, the recollection of what you have had and lost is always better than what you can hope for in the future.” Stendhal
Inspiration: Angel Of Hope … And Love
“Really, what it is all above is love. That which every human being, every one of us, needs and wants more than anything else is to be in a relationship, or in relationships, where we feel safe. Relationships where we are understood, accepted, affirmed and forgiven.” Dr. Arthur Caliandro (RIP retired Minister at Marble Collegiate Church, NYC)
“I want to try and establish what this passion is, whose every genuine manifestation is characterized by beauty…” 1st sentence in De L’Amour (On Love) by Stendhal (1822). This is one of my favorite Stendhal books and it works in the context of the rest of this post. I appreciate Dr. Caliandro’s view on relationships and love. Even when we dismiss it, it matters in all of our lives. He was the Minister at the first church I joined when I moved to NY. He passed away recently. My condolences go out to his family.
Happy New Year! This post was inspired by a prompt from WP Daily Post: Daily Prompt: Call Me Ishmael. Take the first sentence from your favorite book and make it the first sentence of your post.
Positive Motivation Tip: A little hope can take us to immense love… Believe. ♥HAPPY NEW YEAR!♥ 🙂
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos Angel of Hope, via Wikipedia or via Flickr!
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Related articles
- Stendhal on Vanity-Love (thedsn.wordpress.com)
- The Seven Stages of Relationship – Very Few Get Beyond Stage Six (jhaines6.wordpress.com)
- The Myth Of Universal Love (NYTimes.com)
- I’m at stage 6, and I am afraid. (dipitinadream.wordpress.com)
- Reflections: You Yourself Must Change It… (eof737.wordpress.com)
- How Love Works: Stendhal on “Crystallization” and the Seven Stages of Love (1822) (brainpickings.org)
