As we ended the cruising portion of the Alaska trip, I was a bit startled by the affection I felt for some of the people there. There was no sense that I might see them again, although some I’d be delighted to. There was simply a sense of having shared something spectacular. Something momentous. And everyone was aware, both of the beauty and of the privilege. And of the Peace. There’s something very calming and as I’ve said, elemental about steaming through that landscape. It’s not often that you get to be in Nature so vast that it overpowers the presence of cruise ships. Earth, Air, Water, in that place seemed empty of its inhabitants and its few observers.

The cruise ship had been large enough that you never had to interact with people, unless you chose to. You were not likely to meet folks again, unless you worked at it. But everyone gasped in wonder at Nature’s Beauty and shared that with whoever was standing by, whether you spoke their language or not.

The UUs sing: Go now in Peace, Go now in Peace, May the Spirit of Love surround you, everywhere, everywhere, you may go…That Peace, that Beauty and that Spirit of Love was something we had beheld together. What a marvelous experience. And for me, it was sweeter because I was with my sisty, Deb. Life really IS this wonderful. I give thanks for all I have seen and done.