I was exploring Monterey, California shoreline at low tide, scrambling over rocks. The physicality required and pure openness to discovery made me forget everything else for awhile.

Finding new friends

Beautiful question, and a privellage to be able to read these lovely stories. My own is when I was reading The BFG to my kids. One night in particular the first chapter was full of tension and fear, and they were hangin' on every word and leaning forward in their beds. And the next chapter was full of laughter, they were rollin' around, tears streamin' down their cheeks. It's my most precious memory.

I volunteered as a maths tutor for underpriviledged people, it was a great experience and I plan to go into teaching in such an environment when I finish my degree. Theres no better feeling than helping someone bridge their knowledge gap and improve their lives by sharing your passion with them.

Last night at Karaoke! It was one of those magic nights!

Not in recent times, have some injuries at present really slowing me down. Last year I found some new waterfalls, that was good.

I'm pretty confident I'm alive at the point of writing this, else I could not be doing so.

Maybe now. Even though most of the time I feel like I'm in the throws of confusion. But in the last two years or so, for the first time in probably since ever I'm not living in my head - or let's put it this way, if I go there it really messes me up. So, now I'm feeling so many intense feelings that I used to suppress.

When I was physically active either mountain climbing or going on a 12 mile canoe trip on the Saco River in Maine - 6 years ago.

Last weekend, saw ministry play with a lady I'm seeing, drank and smoked too much, stayed in a cheap hotel, next day greasy breakfast. It truly is the simple things

I think really from being a child to the first part of living with someone. now is ok because I am alone and can do what I like with reason. why is it only people over 50 say life begins at 50?

Visting the Northwest area (Washington state) of the United States. Beautiful, glorius nature!

Within the last few days.

Just this morning.

This is a great question - when in recent times have I felt most alive? I wish that I was as eloquent and as profound in my response as the majority of members have been with theirs - but I'm not gonna be. The last time I felt truly alive was the summer of 2016. I have 40% heart blockage, I'm overweight and so I decided that I was going to start walking. I took it easy until I worked my way up past the High School which is over a mile away. Most nights of brisk walking I simply wanted to get back home. But on this night I had taken a couple of shots of gin before starting my walk. I had with me a little music device that held over 5 gigs of songs and my earphones. After completing my typical route - I didn't want to stop - I walked through the new development behind mine - I walked to the end of my own development and kept trying to find places to walk to. The music was awesome - Joe Cocker, Elvis Presley, Bon Jovi, Meatloaf and so on. The humidity was low - the temperature just right - the sky was crystal clear and I was the only one walking around. I felt on that night as I had 30-years before when I was hitchhiking around the country with nothing more than my backpack entering a new town that was just coming awake. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and the smell of freshly made donuts was overwhelming - particularly to a hungry hitchhiker with no money. Watching a town wake up is a profound experience and I had not had that kind of experience (save for one which I won't get into because then this will become a book) until the summer of 2016.

Wandering around medellin columbia in feb.

Half past eight last night.

Good Sex always comes to mind!

I feel more like I do now than I ever did before...

Last weekend, saw ministry play with a lady I'm seeing, drank and smoked too much, stayed in a cheap hotel, next day greasy breakfast. It truly is the simple things

Well that question brought me up short.

I've been pretty numb since my son died a couple of years ago ... a combination of that and other accumulated losses and frustrations. I would say my deconversion made the sun shine and the birds sing except that it coincided with the death of my mother and brother, and ultimately, came to closure with the death of my prior wife. What it actually accomplished was to keep me sane during an insane time. I just didn't want to make excuses for the supposed value propositions of religious faith anymore.

Mostly I would have to say my life has been this weird admixture of triumph and tragedy and I never really have known whether to laugh or cry. I still don't, and I have my doubts that will ever be resolved.

My wife is doing her own version of this dance (also widowed, and various extended faily traumas) and I suppose our shared understanding of this headspace is a big reason we're together. At this point in our lives I think we just want to let go of our expectations and demands of others, avoid asshats and let things be as they are.

I watch these movie sequences where some character or other breaks through to some liberated space and is twirling through the Elyssian Fields and lives happily ever after, or for a reasonable time until some heroic/tragic end. But I'm not sure life actually plays out that way for most of us. I have, shall we say, very modest expectations of it anymore. I am sorry to say I can't give you a time in the recent past, or the past generally when I felt more or less alive than I do right now. Not sure if that's a bug or a feature.