CURRENT MISSION

Who I am is the possibility of healing -- of myself, of communities, of the world -- along with all the other people with similar missions.

ABOUT ME

Ten things about me:
(1) I'm on leave from work, and have been on the road for the past four months.
(2) Currently I'm looking for couchsurfing opportunities as I travel to and from Florida and up the Eastern Seaboard through Georgia, the Carolinas and Virgina, on my way to DC, Baltimore, Philly, NYC and Boston.
(3) I was the chaplain for a group of high schoolers on a 10-day tour of Holocaust sites in Eastern Europe.
(4) I was in Israel for 10 days on a press tour to promote religious tourism -- I floated on the Dead Sea!
(5) I will start a new position in New Jersey in August.
(6) I've been working on my first novel for 20 years.
(7) I was active in the campaign for the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in Massachusetts.
(8) I'm very much in support of Barack Obama's campaign to become President of the United States.
(9) My first experience living overseas was being in France, studying French and working as a bartender/waiter in Paris for five months.
(10) Top places I still want to go: India, South Africa, Australia, Brazil.

PHILOSOPHY

Eagle Poem
by Joy Harjo

To pray you open your whole self
To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon
To one whole voice that is you.
And know there is more
That you can't see, can't hear
Can't know except in moments
Steadily growing, and in languages
That aren't always sound but other
Circles of motion.
Like eagle that Sunday morning
Over Salt River. Circles in blue sky
In wind, swept our hearts clean
With sacred wings.
We see you, see ourselves and know
That we must take the utmost care
And kindness in all things.
Breathe in, knowing we are made of
All this, and breathe, knowing
We are truly blessed because we
Were born, and die soon, within a
True circle of motion,
Like eagle rounding out the morning
Inside us.
We pray that it will be done
In beauty.
In beauty.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

From now through mid-August, I'm a surfer. I look forward to being able to host later this year.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

This spring has been an extended couchsurfing experience for me, traveling from New England through the Mid-Atlantic states, and down into my native Deep South. Mostly, it's been with friends as I have been on leave from work -- it's been a wonderful opportunity to connect with friends and family, as well as to make new friends. I love having a sense of how people live their everyday lives and having the sense of a place that is different from what tourists have. I also basically couchsurfed for three weeks in Kenya two years ago, and had the most amazing experience, and a profound sense of connection to the wonderful hospitable people there.

Interests

Ten Interests:
kayaking, dance (esp. hula, West African), Broadway musicals, writing, traveling, wabi sabi, the harp, human dynamics, transformational communities, cottage living.

• writing
• books
• beauty
• dancing
• traveling
• kayaking
• languages
• tourism
• religious tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

Five Movies: Pan's Labyrinth; Terms of Endearment; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Baghdad Cafe; Little Children.
Five Musical Artists: Les Paul, Stacey Kent, Jill Scott, Kraftwerk, Eurythmics.
Five Books: Lady Chatterley's Lover, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Tao Te Ching, Eat Pray Love, Against Love.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Making fresh fruit offerings to Pele and her sister at the meeting of a lava field and the ocean, and at the steam vents at Volcanoes National Park on Hawaii (The Big Island, May 2008)

Teach, Learn, Share

What I can share:
Experiences about writing, building community, forgiveness, speaking, remaining focused in stressful situations, being with people (and their loved ones) as they are dying ... pushing beyond boundaries, trusting in the moment.

• 

•