Spirit Running and More...

Returning to Amsterdam, my heart swells with love and appreciation for this quirky Dutch city where I came to start a new life last summer.

I am staying with my friend Sabrina who shares my focus on reducing wastefulness. We prepare healthy meals together and bond over our common passions.

Spirit running, an activity where I run and take photos of what inspires me (sometimes tagging #spiritrun on Instagram), continues to help me thrive.

Last week I stumbled upon a spot called De KasKantine, a temporary establishment built on a construction site:

"We are a community of nomad farmers, chefs, engineers and artists striving for more autonomy in daily life. We turned 6 shipping containers and two greenhouses in one growing, tasting and meeting space with one question on our minds. We are an international community of nomad farmers, artists, food preservers, chefs, designers and builders sharing their knowledge, we state that this new way of living and working is here, now and happening! Currently we are engineering our greenhouse, restaurant and community at an amazing location which is easy to reach for anyone who’s interested in our experiments and results..."

I also found a community of garden homes in Tuinpark Ons Buten in Park de Oeverlanden, where I met Jan Bert Wever. He showed me around his tiny home and garden. 

 On Saturday and Sunday, I went to a segment of the We Make the City Festival where vendors promoting "slow food" movements were being showcased.  I purchased delicious yogurt from MOMA and learned about how The Baking Lab reduces waste during cooking processes.

Life is good!

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Staying on the True Path

"Don't force doors to open," this is what a woman from the island of Reunion told me when I was visiting Chiang Mai, Thailand last year.

My US tour is coming to a close.

To recap: I spent March nose-diving into SXSW in Austin, enjoyed time on the West Coast between San Francisco, Berkley, and Vancouver B.C., and had a solid week with my bestie in Chattanooga, TN.

Coming back to Texas, I discovered the Ecstatic Dance and Authentic Relating community in Austin, spent ample time at Barton Springs, and renewed my interest in the Austin EcoNetwork.

On the downside, I experienced a friend's death, a family member's irresponsibility, severe misunderstandings from former friends, and dizziness over all the directions I could take my career.


On the bright side, I soaked up as much sunshine as possible, picked all the wildflowers, reinforced my passions, found non-conventional forms of therapy, found closure and as much acceptance as I allow, and made a few new friends along the way.


MOST IMPORTANTLY, I made time for my family and learned to communicate with them in positive ways.