CURRENT MISSION

be present and aware, no matter where i am or what i'm doing

ABOUT ME

"a walking man walks...", wrote and sang james taylor, one of the spokespersons for my generation and i decided decades ago that i was meant to walk. having a wife and three kids at the time, i looked for a way to earn a living while walking. despite being told by the postmaster that i was over-educated to be a mailman, i convinced him to give me a chance to follow in the footsteps of my mailman father---and i've been walking ever since. from the streets of santa cruz, i "transferred" to the trails of pinnacles national monument to be a park ranger. the only reason i retired from that idyllic "job" after 16 years was to be able to walk in many other parks, in this and many other countries.
with my wives of many years now free of of my idiosyncracies and my children off having children of their own, i'm able to blend travel, kids and grandkids, volunteering, housekeeping and essential quiet time into a blessed, quality lifestyle

PHILOSOPHY

the here and now is all we have, all there is. when we're fully present, we express our enlightenment. there is nothing more we have to learn, to study, to accomplish...just to accept what arises before us is the truth we are "seeking".
but words are lies, mine included. they set up dualities which cause our delusion. when we become aware of the limitation of words (spoken, written, thought), we begin to use words less and connect to the stillness and silence that pervades everywhere .
so let's not get hung up with a lot of philosophy and talk but rather constantly practice unconditional love.

Por que estou no Couchsurfing?

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

been in formal CS about a year abd a half but it seems to me that i've been informally doing it for decades. i would choose as travel destinations places where family and friends had offered a bed, couch, floor or yard. back in my peace corps years, i'd usually stay on the volunteer's couch rather some commercial option. a place to park and sleep in my truck or a nearby hostel have been worthwhile fallback options in more recent years.

often to my ex-wives' dismay, my door has always been open to friends and family passing through, even though there usually hasn't been a "guest room" per se. the definition of friend has traditionally been quite broad.

Interesses

walking/hiking with awareness, biking, fitness, meditation, photography, nutrition, living sustainably, consciousness, traveling on a shoestring, dancing, singing oldies with friends after imbibing a few pints ...

• singing
• photography
• dancing
• fitness
• meditation
• walking
• motorcycles
• traveling
• cars
• cycling
• hiking
• volunteering
• parks

Músicas, Filmes e Livros

run lola run, meetings with remarkable men, avatar, singing in the rain, chicago, mulholland drive, dances with wolves,, a river runs through it, unusual suspects, private moments, harold and maude, king of hearts, motorcycle diary, evita, phanthom of the opera...

neil diamond, blood sweat and tears, doobie brothers, los lobos,
the beatles, john lennon, gordon lightfoot, glenn campbell, carol king, roberta flack, dave brubeck, the rippingtons, keith jarret, chuck mangione, carlos mejia godoy, flaco jimenes, john denver, harry chapin, jacques brel, sarah brightman, buddy holly, beausolie...

power of now, homeless kodo, davinci code, zen mind, beginners mind, life of pi, the enlightened heart, the new earth, botany of desire, healthy at 100, tassajara cookbook(s), opening the hand of thought, the art of just sitting, the four agreements, portrait in sepia...

Uma Coisa Incrível que Eu Fiz

climbed to the top of the world's highest active volcano, Cotopaxi, in ecuador (when the snow level was hundreds of meters less than it is now).

hiking silently through the high peaks of pinnacles national park, engulfed in moonlight and nocturnal quiet.

crossing the street into the whirlpool of cars and motorcycles at an uncontrolled, busy intersection in ho chi min city,
trusting that the drivers would honor my space so long as i walked at a steady space, in a straight line

Países que Visitei

Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Germany, Poland, Viet Nam

Países em que Morei

Ecuador, Nicaragua, United States