This morning I want to pause and give a shout out to my Love, Rilla Delorier .While I’m out chasing the horizon, she’s in Portland making this dream possible. Yes, she worries about me on the bike - and yet she’s the one who most encouraged me to make the trip; and that is exactly what I need most in this life... love for who I am and the freedom to go pursue it. If you know her, you know she’s one of a kind and that she is one beautiful badass. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve seen her, and I’m thankful my front wheel is headed west in her direction.
But don’t think she’s sitting at home just waiting... she packed up my big Jeep Rubicon and took her daughter Izzy out camping for the weekend beside a crystal blue lake with a stunning view of Mt. Hood.
That’s my girl. And I’m her biggest encourager.
We have a manifesto of sorts that perfectly captures our approach to marriage, and describes why ours works so well for us. It’s written by Khalil Gibran:
“Let there be spaces in your togetherness. And let the winds of heaven dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love. Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone--even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not in each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together yet not too near together: for the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.”