Monday, August 20, 2007

Journey to the Center of the Earth

There's a reason why airfare to Phoenix is so very inexpensive in August. It's called heat. Never have I felt such seriously brutal heat.

Whose brilliant idea was it to establish a major city in the middle of the desert?

Actually, I had a wonderful and lovely time in Arizona, but that had nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with the reason I was there. I was there to visit a friend, a friend I barely knew according to conventional measures, yet chronology and geography aside, I realize I've known her on the soul level for quite some time.

I met my friend on the Internet. The amazing thing about the Internet is that it continues to make the world more accessible. My friend and I met on a forum where we were discussing the nature of hope and the concept of trying. We took up writing long, soul-searching email messages wherein we discovered that we had laid the foundation of a spectacular friendship.

When it came time for me take a vacation, there was really no decision to make about where I would go. It wouldn't have mattered had my friend lived in Maine, Alaska, or Arizona. With the possible exception of Alabama or Mississippi (humidity), I was going to go wherever she was.

After a week in Arizona, I realized that spending time with the right people is what's most restorative about vacation. The location is almost irrelevant when you're in good company.

My vacation was fabulous.

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