Satori

Turkey Tail Mushrooms, Buttermilk Falls State Park

How do I begin to explain the gift I have been given? I should do myself a favor and write something less precious.

Sapsucker Woods

I have been blessed in so many ways. I am thankful for the big, bold brush strokes that have defined my life: loving parents; generous friends; earnest children; and a patient husband.

Cayuga Heights

There are also the fine details I constantly remind myself to not take for granted: good health (both physical and mental, and in my family, that is saying a lot), good fortune, and a killer sense of direction (considered much more valuable before GPS).

Catharine Creek Valley

But the gift I am talking about is a flash of enlightenment. Zen Buddhism calls it satori. Freud called it an epiphany. It’s one of those zingers, when all of a sudden everything makes sense. It’s what separates us from the beasts. When we realize how powerful we are and how everything boils down to the choices we make. The big ones and the little ones. Some of us like to pretend we are lab rats that have no control over our lives, but, whether we meditate, take Psychology 101, pray to a higher spirit, or get into a plane crash and then live to tell about it, some of us, if we are fortunate enough, some of us, one day wake up and realize that we hold all our own cards.

Teeter Farm

When my husband asked if I would move to Ithaca for a year, how could I have possibly known what a treasure trove would be coming my way? I resisted at first, afraid to uproot from a life we worked so hard to build. It was scandalous, like we were running away, couldn’t handle the heat, needed a break.

F.R. Newman Arboretum

But my husband is a visionary, planning and plotting and he has been tending this garden of a dream for many years. As I looked into the eyes of my burnt out business world warrior, road weary from years of putting on the dog, I made a decision that has paid off in spades.

Arts Quad, Cornell University

The nature, the quiet, the gentleness of Ithaca over took all of us and has been caressing my family ever since. Facts are, I didn’t realize how crazy and overscheduled we were until we moved. We were so jacked up on work, travel, tennis lessons, basketball teams, fund raisers and social events, that there was no way we could hang loose enough to frog hunt, star gaze or read all afternoon.

Buck Settlement Cemetery

Most people have to use incredible strength and/or go through something painful to get here—a divorce, or worse, a death, maybe losing an important job. I was presented with an opportunity to rethink how I spend my time without having to sever a limb.

Fall Creek

I might not have the final destination all figured out, but I can tell you, it’s a journey worth traveling.