When I was in college, I read Goethe’s Faust and The Sorrows of Young Werther. This was pretty much all I knew about the man.

He wrote one story in which a guy sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge, and another about a young man who kills himself because of unrequited love. Fun stuff, right?

I remember thinking, “Why the hell do they put this crap on our syllabus?” (I know… I was young.)

It wasn’t until later in life… much, much later, that I learned Goethe’s writings are replete with valuable lessons of self-improvement and inspiration. You don’t believe me?

Here are six pearls of Goethe’s wisdom that I’ve picked up along the way:

Posted in Life 34 Comments »

The famous “Stick Season” is here at last! I’m not sure if that’s actually a good thing, because all the pretty fall leaves are gone and we are now dangerously close to the notorious Vermont Winter (eek!). BUT, we have been making the most of this unofficial season to get out and hike some trails, like Camel’s Hump, and Hunger Mountain (where these pictures were taken.)

It has actually been really, really, really cold lately; although you wouldn’t know it since people are still out in tee shirts and flip flops! But on this day, the weather was a beaut! The sun was out, the skies were clear, and it was downright warm. It was lovely to be able to thaw out my bones a little before bracing for… that season whose name we do not dare mention.

Posted in about me, Spirit of Adventure 43 Comments »

Please Note: This is a guest post by my wonderful friend, John Anyasor, from HiLife2B. Be sure and visit his awesome blog, and subscribe for free updates by Email or RSS.

We all want to be thought of as the winner. The one that everyone can depend on. When others are in a jam, we want to be the ones everyone else looks towards to save the day.

We want to be fearless. We want to be courageous. We want to be strong.

And when we’re staring challenges right in the face, we want to be the ones who conquer them effortlessly.

I wanted to feel this way for a long time. I thought, when you faced great hardship, you had to be invincible, in both body and mind.

Posted in balance, choices, Life, Overcoming Challenges 28 Comments »