Summer!

When I was seventeen, it was a very good year—no, it was an adventurous year. That summer I drove by myself from Central Illinois to Santa Fe, New Mexico to visit my grandfather. To drive without GPS, one credit card, and twenty dollars for gas—keep in mind it was 20 cents a gallon—was quite the journey. I was terrified and excited all at the same time. My mother was a basket case with worry, but my father thought it a great lark and sent me on my way.

Once I got out of Missouri and the green of the Midwest, the West of American Indians and pioneers greeted me. Vast space allowed the thunderstorms to pass by like a movie and I felt very small in that space. It was exhilarating. Once I arrived in Santa Fe, I felt as if I could do anything and that moment informed my young adult life for the adventures to come.

The great teacher Pema Chodron says, “If you don’t know the nature of fear, then you can never be fearless.” Summer is such a wonderful opportunity to be fearless, to go where you have never gone before and try things untried just to see.

May your summer be fun and fearless. Enjoy!