2:38P.M. I just finished my 2 hour flight from Spokane to Oakland. I planned to write more of this entry on the plane but instead I got caught up in writing a steamy email. I was seated between 2 elderly womyn. Both were working really hard to read what was on my screen while trying to hide their intrusion. I made the font bigger. I think I may be able to claim letting them read this email as Karma Yoga! They both kept looking across me towards each other, stifling giggles, and playing nervously with their hand bags. It was SO much fun! I am now waiting for my bags. Then will begin my journey south. I am meeting my sister Rachel tonight. She is not a birth sister, but if you saw us together you would never know it! She is pregnant with her first baby. I am so looking forward to spending sister time with her. Then tomorrow we go to Esalen! I must have been good in my last life!
5:36 P.M. Wow! 2 tough hours of driving, I am exhausted and driving a mustang. That may sound kind of cool, but the reality is it is uncomfortable and has terrible visibility. I am sitting in my car outside Whole Foods where I am going to get some coffee to help me stay awake. Which if you know Highway #1 along the California coast, is VERY important. Winding roads, beautiful views and many cliffs, where one wrong move could mean plummeting to your death. Ok perhaps that is a tad dramatic. I am off to get supplies! Then down the highway.
6:49 P.M. Still in Monterey. Sitting in my car drinking nasty kombucha. It may taste terrible but is raw and filled with probiotics. Good for my tummy. One MUST be hydrated before going to Esalen, hours of hot-springing does terrible things to the digestive system if you are not careful (Those of you who have been KNOW what I mean!) I convinced a womyn in the store of it’s benefits, she told me all about her colitis. I listened, which she may have needed more than the Kombucha. She was thankful as I left her in the refrigerated drinks aisle. As I went through the check out I wondered how much Karma yoga was it I was requiring of myself each day? Talking with this womyn, who is deep in the throws of chronic pain, sure felt like it qualifies. Right now I am poaching internet from a local motel, I am the recipient of some Karma yoga. Thank you Comfort inn!. The air smells of briny ocean...I better go find it!
8:08 P.M. I watched the sunset as I drove down the twisting ribbon highway. I stopped to take a picture, dead battery, go figure. I now sit at The spirit Garden in Big Sur. This is the spot I randomly chose(yes Ok I don’t believe in random, but it makes the story fun) to meet Rachel. “Let’s meet by the Shell gas station” I said to Rach. I arrive here to cars lining the road. There is live music and the place is filled with children and musicians! I had a conversation with a man who used to be a herbal healer near Santa Barbara. We spoke as he drank Bausch beer and ate corn dogs. He was telling me that he studied Native Animal medicine. I asked him what his totem was , as I pointed over his shoulder. A hummingbird, had landed, yes landed on a wire above his head. He put down his corn dog, with a look of awe. “You almost never get to see them still! Maybe if there is a feeder near bye, but never like that!” He thanked me profusely for showing it to him, his back was turned, he never would have seen it other wise. Told me the hummingbird is the bird of Joy, that we are both sure to have wonderful times ahead of us. I think he is right.
I have a date with a stack of journals tomorrow. They need to be made up, written in and distributed. When I make 12 days journal #61, the question inside will read “Have you ever had a journey that changed your life?”. I think I will give it to Rachel, as she journeys into motherhood.
So no big acts of Karma Yoga today, just a bunch of little ones. Today was a really wonderful day.
Me, Kincade and Rachel at Esalen, in September. She looks different now with her beautiful goddess belly, filled with baby yumminess.
I don't have time to go into a lot of details, but I've thought of three. One was Ian's birth, short life, and death, my initiation into motherhood...totally changed my thoughts and feelings on motherhood, overhauled my spiritual beliefs, and gave me a much stronger, firmer foundation.
ReplyDeleteIn the more specific sense of journeys, the trip I made to England in 1999 changed my life, as did my trip to Ottawa in August of 2008. Both, in a lot of ways I never would have expected.