a digital scrapbook

I post this quote every Martin Luther King Jr. Day and this year is no different, if not more pressing. In 2011, I sadly felt more exposed to hateful rhetoric towards “others” than in years past. Rather than seeing red, this constantly reminds me that love, and only love, can drive it out.

Happy Martin Luther King Day Jr., all.

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. … Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. So when Jesus says “Love your enemies,” he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition. … The chain reaction of evil — hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars — must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation

2011 was a record travel year; it’s hard to believe I flew over 80K miles! Here’s my annual recap of my travels by city that I started a 5 years ago:

WINTER
January 25-28 Alexandria, VA
February 4-6 San Francisco, CA
February 10-12 Washington DC
February 13-19 Alexandria, VA
March 10-16 Austin, TX
March 22-25 Alexandria, VA

SPRING
March 31 – April 4 Rome, Italy
April 5-8 Florence, Italy
April 7 Cinque Terre, Italy
April 9-10 Amsterdam, Netherlands
April 18-22 Alexandria, VA
April 27- May 1 Las Vegas, NV

SUMMER
May 26-30 Lahaina, HI
June 20-21 Queenstown, MD
June 22-24 Alexandria, VA
July 22-25 Eden Prairie, MN
July 30-August 10 Eden Prairie, MN

FALL
September 6-10 Alexandria, VA
September 22-26 Eden Prairie, MN
September 27 – October 4 Paris, France
November 1-4 Alexandria, VA
November 23-26 Eden Prairie, MN
December 29-30 Grand Canyon National Park
December 28 – January 1 Las Vegas, NV

Travel stats recap:

• Spent 106 days away. Flew nearly 2x as much as last year, including two trips to Europe.
• Visited 16 cities and fulfilled my new year’s resolution in 2011 to visit 3 new countries!
•  Was most often found working in the DC area and spending time with family in Minnesota.
• Did more personal travel this year with 58% for leisure, 42% for business (based on days).
• My Dopplr Travel Profile with Flickr Photos

2012 Resolution - Visit 3 new international cities!

Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France. Photo by Ryan Prins.

Over the last 5 years, I’ve been on 117 trips. Feeling tremendously blessed to have had travel be a regular part of my life and for the people I’ve gotten to know better because of it!

 “To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.”

– Bill Bryson

Past Travel Cities Posts: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007

Night in Capitol Hill

@ Via Tribunali

@ The Garage

@ Skillet Diner