July 22^nd 2013

There are still places left in our world where you can find treasures beyond your imagination; places that bring moments that you never thought possible. There are still places in our world that bring meaning to all the craziness we surround our lives with. In my journey for meaning I pointed northwest, I pointed my compass towards Alaska, but I never thought I would witness nature in such an amazing format, in such an amazing purity. Alaska was and always will be a dream, but now it is one engraved in my memory. The five days we shared together in the Kenai Fiords will not go undervalued, will not disappear from our minds for quite a while, and the friendships that got reinforced and created during these five days will remain as a precious life’s gift.

Strong memories of her came to my mind; she has been with me for the last week. She has been looking down, smiling, being happy for me as she always was. But this time was different. The moments I lived felt too perfect to be just coincidence, to be just random.

I would put my hands in the freezing water to cool me down and I would pay attention at the unimaginable beauty that I was surrounded by. From the kayak all the mountains, glaciers and the ocean seemed so overwhelming. I felt like those moments were for me, that there was no need to photograph, that those five days were Sue’s gift to me, a gift of healing. There were scenes in front my eyes that will never be forgotten and they will always be with me, like her love, like her memories. I truly believe she gave that to me; I have this strong feeling that those five days were her way to tell me it is time to make a big turn in my life and that the healing process is in its last stages.

When we reached the glacier lagoon, in perfect silence and stillness, I saw her smiling. Now I know how she felt when I made her a nice card or a short movie or wrote a love letter for the day after Valentine’s. She wrote love letters to me this week. The morning mist, the bright sunny days, the dolphins welcoming us to the fiords, the black bear climbing the rocky shore, all those incredible moments, all were her love letters to me, her goodbye to this difficult stage of my life I am finally leaving behind.

This last five days felt like closure, felt like a confirmation that all I have experienced and done in the last three months were a necessary period in my life and also a learning time to shape the rest of my life. Today I am overwhelmed by all the opportunities in front of me, all the options to experience for the time I have left. I have slowed down my life; everything seems in slow motion, allowing me to savor all the great moments I have been experiencing during my trip. What if you could live your life feeling the same way all the time? I remember how quickly life would go by me in the last few years. I am going to try not to allow that again, I am going to make every year count.