"The Dude abides. I don't know about you, but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners."
-The Stranger, The Big Lebowski
Living and working in Washington, D.C., it's easy to get caught up in the hustle-and-bustle and the constant need to feel productive. There is an ever-present temptation to fill one's calendar with tasks, meetings, appointments, etc. Even ostensibly fun social gatherings must be scheduled weeks in advance. If you're busy, the thinking goes, you must be on the right track. In such a context, I need reminders that it's OK to slow down and simply "be." Kingman Island, where these pictures were taken, is a little-known slice of nature among the urban concrete where I often find such reminders: the ebb and flow of the tide, a lonely heron flying low across the water, a radiant pink and orange sunset. It is a place to relax, refresh and rejuvenate. May all of us find similar places to abide like The Dude.
