I want to explore. Next year I think I'm going to go to Machu Picchu. This year, I plan on two half-marathons, multiple 10K trail runs, and I want to spend as much time this Spring through Fall outdoors hiking and camping as possible. The world is beautiful, and I want to be taken in by it's beauty. The next REI garage sale is going to take a lot of my money...

The aspect of fitness, of hiking, of camping, is the solitude and meditation that comes with it. There is nothing else that gives me such a feeling of confidence, but more importantly, of working within and against the limits of my own body and mental capacity.

Everything is flowing -- going somewhere, animals and so-called lifeless rocks as well as water. Thus the snow flows fast or slow in grand beauty-making glaciers and avalanches; the air in majestic floods carrying minerals, plant leaves, seeds, spores, with streams of music and fragrance; water streams carrying rocks... While the stars go streaming through space pulsed on and on forever like blood...in Nature's warm heart.

I'm kind of perpetually a malcontent with my relationships with others, and am still not as satisfied as I would like with my connections with others in my age range and it's funny - this past week I've heard similar complaints from multiple people. Maybe this is all just a form of escapism.