how lucky

Rising Circle Ranch, New Mexico.

By the time you read these words, I’ll be making my way to a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico to lead a week-long workshop. I have to admit that I have a thing for Santa Fe: it’s the place where we had our first family vacation after our daughter Alex was born, the place where one of my best friends married his love, and the place we’ve made many more wonderful family memories. It’s a wonderful, magical city. But also, I’m enchanted by the desert.

Marcus and I in Santa Fe, January 2014.

As someone who grew up in the tropics, has lived in the sultry heat and humidity of Houston and the misty rains of England, the desert leaves me dumbstruck every time I visit. It’s so mysterious and exotic and beautiful. I don’t know if I could ever live in the desert, but I marvel at how different it must be to live there, a place of perpetual aridity and sunlight.

But to be fair, I have thoughts similar to these every time I travel, especially when I travel somewhere I haven’t been before. Whether it’s the bush of Australia, or the city of San Francisco; a village in Malawi or the city of Paris, every time, I’ve wondered to myself, what must it be like to live here, in this place, with these customs, among these people? What would it be like to call this place home?

The Blue Mountains, Australia

San Francisco, California, USA

Malawi, southeastern Africa

Paris, France

And all I can think is:

How lucky we are, to live on a planet of such diverse beauty.

How lucky we are, to live on a planet of such diverse peoples.

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