à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Starting Over
When Curiosity Beckons
When curiosity beckons, we don’t always know where it will take us, or how long the journey will be. Last week a friend, a spry septuagenarian who pedals around town like nobody’s business, mentioned she was overwhelmed by the thought of preparing for her upcoming yard sale. I asked her if she wanted help. My … Continue reading
On Being a Tourist in My Own Backyard
When I was an active member of the Colorado Mountain Club, hiking steep trails and bagging peaks, it was tempting to pooh-pooh people who “cheated” and drove to the tops of mountains. At times, some of my fellow hikers demeaned folks who were not in good shape or were too “lazy” to spend time in … Continue reading
Swimming to Celebrate
Yesterday at 7:16 a.m. I waded into the local reservoir with Boulder Aquatic Masters. It organizes private swims before the main beach opens: without motorboats and crowds, the area is relatively silent, the water calm. At that hour, the air is still cool. It’s a bit like being on a watery Camino de Santiago: instead … Continue reading
Tendonitis as Spiritual Teacher
Until last autumn, when I overused one of my tendons on the Camino de Santiago, I had never sustained a mobility-impairing injury. While people may say that I was lucky to be injury-free for that long, I often wondered if my fear of getting hurt prevented me from exploring exhilarating and risky pursuits. Maybe I … Continue reading
Of Mountains and Mark Doty
Somehow, I managed to not know of poet and memoirist Mark Doty until Lighthouse Writers Workshop brought him to the Denver area over the weekend. Friends raved about him, so I attended a “Writers Studio”, a combination of poetry reading and interview on Saturday, and his craft talk on Sunday. That the first event took … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
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