I’m ready to leave for the airport. Comments have been made that it must have been frightening to cross a suspension bridge in Nepal, to encounter yaks, and I smile at that because in this moment getting on an airplane feels like a big deal even though it’s safer than the trip to and from the airport.

How do we meet what comes? Fear is excitement without the breath, so I sit here noticing. How deep in my inhale? Not much. Exhale? I’m holding on. Do I really think holding on to my breath will make me feel safe? What funny beings we are. I visualize my brother looking down at me laughing. He had a great laugh. I know he’s laughing at me from wherever he is now, and so a chuckle emerges from my heart, and I laugh too.