“I imagine this is how God expected the world to be” my long-time travel buddy/roommate/best friend smiled as we shared some REAL hot cocoa before our bus ride back to Florence.  Bundled in furs on the outside bench of our new favorite cafe in Interlaken, Switzerland, life did not feel short from perfect.  The air seemed to detox our lungs from Florence’s gasoline-exhausted streets, and the water from the public…

For the past 20 years of my life I have lived in a world far from the pure and peaceful creation I had been taught was Earth’s original creation.  Far from the “homeland” (if you will) I had imagined for my ancestral family.  Small trees landscaped into concrete walkways and rain puddles tinged in antifreeze and oil.  Pleasant days arrive and fade by the hour, but are hardly outnumbered the…