October 6

Routines have got to go. On vacation I can no longer get out of bed and walk, as though on autopilot, to turn the coffee maker on and sit down to my daily readings and meditation. I will have to adapt. But what wonderful adaptations! Someone else makes my coffee. I can read to my heart’s content, not worried about chores. The fresh air and dazzling scenery slip by and I am not in control. I wonder what my life would be like if I lived with that realization every day. In reality, there is so little I actually control.

Sucia Island

October 7

We awoke this morning to paddle in the fog—in silence. Stopping often to let the currents carry us through kelp forests, we floated close to birds resting on the beds. It was, in a way, symbolic of what I hope to learn this month: to let go of attachments and go with the flow. The image will stay with me for a long time.

near Spencer Spit on Lopez