I wanted to close out 2014, a very important year in my life, with a short passage from my favorite book. I first read East of Eden in my youth, and still John Steinbeck’s words impress upon me today. This year I began revisiting many of my favorite pieces of literature, and yet this excerpt sat with me the longest. I believe there is something profound in change; a very powerful gauge of our existence. And there is something even greater so in accepting it. Thus this excerpt moved me the most, and inspired me to be that which describes Cathy Ames before her permanent descent into corruption.

I hope this depiction deeply emboldens you, just as it has for me. For how lucky would we be if we left this feeling upon others in life; one to last us long through the night and into the dawn? One that we can feel content with upon our departure from people, from places, from the moments in between.

Happy holidays, readers! Safe travels and best wishes into the new year!

“A kind of light spread out from her. And everything changed color. And the world opened out. And a day was good to awaken to. And there were no limits to anything. And the people of the world were good and handsome. And I was not afraid any more.”

-John Steinbeck (1902-1968)