this only

"a valley and above it forests in autumn colors.
a voyager arrives, a map led her here.
or perhaps memory. once, long ago, in the sun,
when the first snow fell, traveling this way
she felt joy, strong, without reason,
joy of the eyes. everything was the rhythm
of shifting trees, of a bird in flight....
she returns years later, has no demands.
she wants only one, most precious thing:
to see, purely and simply, without name,
without expectations, fears, or hopes,
at the edge where there is no i or not-i."

by: czeslaw milosz
from: a collection of poems titled "risking everything" edited by roger housden
adapted by: jessa walters ('she' for 'he')after a five hour busride, we arrived to our hotel, a ten minute walk from the temple. as soon as we dropped our suitcases in our hotel room, jennifer and i were out to door for a walk in the crisp autumn afternoon. we came across these beautiful praying hands holding prayer beads....
after weeks in smog-filled daegu, i could literally feel my skin coming back to life in the freshness of the pure mountain air.