In Amsterdam

I've returned from Barcelona! And feel both rested and ready for Spring. Incredibly ready for Spring. To be honest, I'm feeling so ready that I'm still not convinced I'll be able to write a thesis as it gets sunnier and sunnier, and believe it'll take an absolute gift of concentration and discipline. Oh, sweet Jesus...

But anyways, I have returned from Barcelona. It's such a lovely city! And not just because the juxtaposition of gothic city and Mediterranean is absolutely incredible, but the culture is so warm! I love that all day (and night) long you can find people enjoying coffee, sangria, tapas, music, parks, and the art of doing nothing together. There's an overwhelming sense of community. 

Several times I experienced the reoccurring, though extremely cherished, moment of feeling so full of life and so at peace that I really feel like I might be beaming. These moments usually come during the spring or summer after a day spent in the sun. I'm worn out from playing, exploring, just being in warm, sunny weather. Usually I'm a little smelly. Usually it's at dusk. And always I'm surrounded by people. In those moments I feel so free. Only being 24, it seems strange to say that it reminds me of being a kid, since I often still consider myself one...but it reminds me so much of long summer days spent playing in the neighborhood or up in Michigan. Really, it's such a bummer I can't do justice to these moments any better than I currently am, or capture them in words or pictures. I guess it's kind of a treasure in that way. Something intimate. Using language I didn't have when I was younger, perhaps these moments are a taste of the Kingdom of God. Definitely they are.