Day 11 One on One- Starting Point

Sometimes the things I see on holiday that are fabulous and thought provoking are famous, like the Hearst Castle, apparently the most visited monument in the State of California. Other times though, the neatest thing I see in a day is random. Today we came around a corner on a fairly deserted highway between Grass Valley and Kent Oregon, to find this:

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There is no pay parking lot, no gift shop, just a dusty pull out. I wondered aloud how it all started. The smart ass answer was “with one pair of shoes”. This came from my teenager, complete with an ample serving of sarcasm. What I meant was that I wondered at the story behind this shoe tree. Again since this is a random site, not sanctioned by any government or group, there was no placard to explain. I am left to come up with my own stories. Perhaps a pair of shoes got thrown out of a passing car, got caught in the tree, another passing traveller saw this and in a moment of whimsy added another. I imagined the trend continuing until the tree grew to its quirky and magnificent current self. Or maybe this art installation is the work of the property owner? Maybe they had seen a similar tree elsewhere and wanted one of their own. It is possible they work at a goodwill store and make use of all the shoes which can no longer be used. I will probably never know.

It is interesting to look at how things get started. This 12 days project was started on a whim. The first entry talks about how it was born out of my exercise neurosis. Having not sweated from activity while on an unexpectedly intense 12 days cleanse, I came up with a 12 days sweat cleanse, which grew into 12 days up Pulpit Rock, which grew into...well this entry, which I just realized is number 99. Wow. Far out.

Yesterday the conversation, on our long day of travelling, turned to the first day Chris and I met. We both remembered what we were wearing, where we stood, and how we had a deep appreciation for the shape of each others butt! Imagine if we knew on that first day that this meeting would become a defining moment of our lives...do you think we would have continued? or freaked out and run away? I am not sure myself, I guess this is why the Universe (God, Goddess, Powers that Be, Grand Pooh Ba) keeps us in the dark. I think that sometimes knowing our potential is the scariest thing of all.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
by Marianne Williamson

You know it Marianne! Truer word have rarely been spoken.

“What special talent/light/gift do you share with the world, making it a richer place?” is the question in 12 days journal #80. In which I will write the quote by Marianna Williamson.

Oh and as for today's one on one time...we are all trapped in a vehicle and have a total of 11 hours worth of ground to cover before the day is done. I couldn’t avoid one on one time if I tried, and believe me, with the amount of bickering in the back seat, I have considered riding on the roof.