I’ve always loved canoeing and kayaking too. My friend Barb O and I kayaked down the Canon River awhile back. Another friend, D, invited me kayaking for the day at Lebanon Park – also fun.
As teenagers we used to rope our canoe on top of the family station wagon and head off to the nearest lake – usually Nokomis, but sometimes Lake of the Isles. Canoe trips to the Boundary Water Area (BWCA) were always something I loved. Two weeks and you may not see another living soul. But pull your canoe onto an island at night, or bears may come to investigate your campsite.
Today we’ve decided to head up to Lutsen on our way to Grand Marais. From the old bridge to the majestic stream and lake views, it’s really worth the stop. The air is so crisp and the water so clear.
This year, as most years, we are headed up to northern Minnesota and Lake Superior for a week of vacation. I will post a few pictures each day and you can see how our week unfolds.
We don’t normally make a plan, or if we do we change the plan as the day progresses. We tend to be pretty opportunistic and veer off the beaten path if something interesting presents itself. Come along with us.
We’ve arrived and here’s the view of Lake Superior from the cabin we’re renting for these next few days – right on the water.
As many of you know – I recently finished my doctoral course work. While it was a “deeper dive” into areas of real interest to me (social justice, ethics, critical thinking and teaching) it was in many respects like drinking through a fire hydrant.
To embark on a doctoral program is to focus on that which is of vital interest – something that can hold the student’s attention for many months. This is how I survived the reading and writing 😉 This is what made it so fabulous.
Imagine if you could stop working and begin a new life. In this new life you get up every day and read as much as you want – and only about – what you’re passionate about? How fabulous is that? This is what I did.
As I told DH, I’ve now read over 200 books, since many courses required nearly one book per week. Also I’ve read over 500+ articles with 5-7 articles required weekly for each class in addition to the textbooks. This doesn’t include the numerous speakers, films and presentations. On the “output” end I’ve written dozens of abstracts and papers – so over 400+ pages.
Now the question is how to synthesize all of this information in a way that helps me impact adult education and teaching. This will be an on-going process. Nevertheless, my dissertation – nearly complete – will be submitted in August for graduation in December.
Although it was a tremendous amount of work I would do it all again. It was a gift to myself – to my own personal growth and development. It was also a gift that will be used by the wider community. Most people never have the option to do something like this and the opportunity itself comes with responsibilities. Our education is never only for our own personal benefit. It is also for the benefit of the wider community.
Photo: ArtsJournal.com
In my own situation, it took the support of many, along with financial support from the university where I teach and the school I attended to be able to complete this program of doctoral study.
Where will it lead? Only the Spirit knows . . . I wait to see what the sequel presents. God’s vision is always so much greater than anything we can imagine – and so much more fun too!
Last Saturday I was in Gypsy Moon with a very good friend. Gypsy Moon is a quirky little shop with unusual things located on Randolph Avenue in St. Paul. You’ll find it across the street from the University of St. Catherine, in the neighborhood where I grew up.
If, when you are there, you go all the way to the back of the shop, past the rusting metal planters, beyond the antique armoire and the display of artisan jewelry, you will find an additional small room. There on the table I saw it. It was printed on a Curly Girl greeting card – what I learned from another very good friend – so I purchased it and sent it to her.
“What was it?” you might ask. It was the secret to a fabulous life. But it was short and sweet and summed up in very few words.
On the card was written this:
The real secret to the fabulous life
is to live imperfectly with great delight.
It is so very true! In the end, this is all we can do. Nothing is ever perfect and it is best when it is imperfect. It was all created this way, but not by us. We should accept the gift and delight in it. Give up our ideas of how we think our lives should be or should have been. Instead, embrace the life we have been given. Compassionate and forgiving theology – a gift, as modeled by a very god friend and now it seems, on a greeting card.
You may also like Rochester – Mayo Clinic.
