We’ve just launched a fun thing over at SmallBox called The Think Kit, which is an inspiration kit in the form of  30 days of prompts that help you reflect on your year and consider what’s next. The Think Kit prompts start today, and the first one is so easy, I couldn’t resist sharing.

Prompt: Have a snapshot that encapsulates your year? Or one that represents a great moment? Maybe it just looks dang cool. Show ‘n tell time — let’s see those pics!

This would be my favorite photo of this year:

It’s not a perfectly composited and shot photo in any sort of professional photography sense (in fact, it’s a little blurry), however, this photo encapsulates so much for me. It was taken in one of my favorite spots in Indianapolis, a place of peace and rejuvenation. It is a visual representation of the spirit and the attitude I have focused on embodying this year: letting things flow like water. Paying attention to that flow and getting to know the feeling better. This photo is a gentle reminder.

Want to participate in Think Kit? Head on over here to get started!

A year ago I was one and a half months into this road trip. A year ago I had no idea what seven months ahead would feel like.

I know now.

Now I know I’m capable more of more than I think I am. Now I know I can handle a lot, that I can persevere. Now I know better when I need to push myself, when I need to retreat and give myself space. Now I know the feeling of gratitude for people, complete strangers, who are kind and generous in ways I’d never expect. Now I know this country is full of beautiful and inspiring places, including the place from which I started (you can take that both literally and metaphorically). Now I know the me I am now is no different than the me I was then. That instead, I am a more unfolded version of myself. More attuned to my inner voice, more aware of how to make myself happy and what makes life worth living for me.

And now. If I wasn’t sure before, now I know just how deep Isabel is etched into my heart forever.

For all these things, for this opportunity, for everyone who helped me along the way (that means you), I am deeply, incredibly grateful. And moved. Thank you.

While in Napa Valley, I stayed at a really cute hotel, the Sonoma Creek Inn. One of the things I really liked about this place (aside from the quaint decor and lovely bathroom) was that each of the rooms comes with its own patio. So, at the end of the day I could relax with a glass of wine on said patio and enjoy the mild weather (in February! amazing!). And also: cook dinner. I had my camp stove with me in instances where I wasn’t staying in a place with a stove (i.e. with friends or family), but it requires that you cook with it outside — you know, noxious fumes and such. Here I was able to enjoy a space of my own AND cook dinner for myself. It felt luxurious:

One night I made tacos, another, pasta. This particular night, I made asparagus with some local Sonoma sausage (and a glass of red wine, of course). It was really delicious.

It became perhaps the first time on the trip (and in my life) when I realized I truly am quite content being alone with myself. Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoy being in the company of friends and loved ones, for sure. I know I am a naturally social person and enjoy companionship. And I always knew I could be alone and enjoy myself. But while in Sonoma I found the place deep within myself where I felt a solid and peaceful appreciation of solitude. As though I really understood it for the first time. It felt like an awakening.

Next stop after Tucson was Sedona on my way to Flagstaff. Sedona is absolutely breathtaking. I spent just a few hours there, and I wish I had spent more time. I debated staying the night there instead of heading to Flagstaff, but it worked out well that I didn’t. I’ll explain why in another post. Meanwhile, the rock in Sedona is absolutely gorgeous, red and thoughtfully formed. So many beautiful views. And it seems it is a wonderful mix of desert and forest all in one place! Even though I hadn’t been in the southwest for that long, I was missing that forest-y greenness I’m used to in Indiana and thereabouts. So it was neat to get the best of both worlds in Sedona — beautiful rock, plus forest, and even a bit of snow.

Sedona is rich with lots of art and artisans, so I decided to take the time to acquaint myself with some art. I visited the Sedona Art Center, as well as browsed the many jewelry shops. The city is also known to be a mystical healing place, and not to get all new age-y, but I took a moment here to reflect and decided to start to repair some inner thoughts and processes that needed healing. It felt like a good time to do so. I don’t know if it was this place or just where I was in my mind in regard to this trip, but I had reached a turning point here. I began to feel more grounded, more myself, more capable and slightly more confident. It felt like a returning, like greeting an old friend I hadn’t seen in awhile. But also like turning over a new leaf, making new commitments to myself, necessary commitments for personal growth and happiness. The momentum of that started here. It continues now. Sometimes it’s two steps forward, one step back, but regardless, it feels good.

This is the road to Alamogordo, NM. I think I took this along US highway 285. Driving I-10 was really low on my “things I’m excited about on the road trip” list for some reason. I had heard that it was desolate and desert-like and this made me really apprehensive. Mostly because I hadn’t had much experience with desolate desert roads. And I kept thinking about No Country for Old Men and that somehow I would accidentally happen upon a crime scene and then Javier Bardem in a pageboy haircut would come looking for me relentlessly. (While I would love for Javier Bardem to come looking for me, I’d like for it to be for different reasons than his motives in the movie.)

In reality, I-10 really wasn’t that bad. The first two hours out of San Antonio have an interesting landscape and it wasn’t really until I hit highway 285 that I started to think, hm, well, this is not a place I would want to get stranded. Luckily, I didn’t, and I kind of thought that I wouldn’t. My car is in pretty good shape with no hint of mechanical issues that would put us roadside for awhile. So then I just had to deal with the boring monotony of the drive. Oh look, more desert. Some ranches. Flat flat flat. I thought Indiana was flat. No, it is flatter out here in certain places. But then we found the Sacramento Mountains, which had snow and all manner of breathtaking views that I failed to capture very well on film, but here’s a shot:

So really my mind had blown things out of proportion and the drive really wasn’t that bad. Good lesson for me to learn.