Worried About The Weight Of My Shoes

My shoes seem to be at least half a pound. I have stepped on and off the scales twice to check. I should have bought those pink mesh numbers that were on sale that I noticed on my last trip to town. Too late now. I’m committed to the hefty leather protection these render. One has to have stout walking shoes, after all, this is a walkabout I am undertaking. I stare at my new Birks feeling somewhat calm. Some items packed feel just right. I have unpacked and repacked three times and I am considering a fourth today. I thought I could just do this and be done with it and move onto something more constructive but packing seems to be a pervasive and thoughtful process that takes up an entire room and more days than I care to acknowledge. I have decided this is a bit like ascending K2. Every item is considered for weight, usefulness and compacted where possible with the thought in mind I might have to marry a chiropractor if I wish to get on in life. I have lost weight recently I notice. I must be lightening up. I take this as a good sign.

The Beauty Where I Live

I am writing from the harbour of Ganges, the sunlight is reflecting off of the water, the boats are at anchor, and I am eating an exotic breakfast lovingly made, a rainbow is shining over the home where I live, the rain has abated, and the world seems luminescent in the light of a new day. This world we live in is so beautiful. Now I journey. It will be a beauty out-manifesting from the great pallet of creation that is a different form. I go to Sidney, Australia and then I am boarding a ship. The journey will take me to islands that are French and Fijian with exotic names such as Savu Savu, Dravinis Island, Suva, New Caledonia, Vanuatu. Maybe I will see fire walkers, eat exotic fruit, and walk turquoise lagoons, and stare at tattoos of woad that tell stories. Candied pink and yellow colonial architecture will be set amid jungles, and interesting peoples will populate my day. I will not be the same. My life is changing and I am glad of it. I wonder what will come of this and how I will be affected by the paintbrush moving through my soul of new washes and impressions of the beauty of this jewel of a planet where we live.

Heliotropism

Heliotropism means going towards the sun. It was first noted by Leonardo Da Vinci as sunflowers were observed moving their giant heads of yellow petals in circular motion as they follow the sun’s passage through the sky. As the season turns I find myself getting flashes of the south, a land I have often wondered about and where I will soon be. To accomplish this I am already discovering sundry knowledge that my daughters are well versed in - such as seeing a doctor for shots for the journey are not covered by Medicare, neither the visit, nor the vaccines. When did that happen? It used to be! I am now apprised on the habits of the mosquito that give yellow fever and am armed with a prescription should I ever have to repeat what I went through in Cairo all those years ago, an indelibly etched experience of clutching an Egyptian bidet praying mightily that I might meet my maker and be put out of my misery, the sooner the better. I have also solved the problem of excess weight, being a bibliophile. After seriously worrying at the bit, I bought a Kindle. I am absolutely amazed to discover I love the thing, a surprising turn. It is small and light yet has on it 15 or more books. It isn’t as fancy as an Ipad but it is actually smaller and weighs less, I can cart it easily in my purse and I find that I love how it handles and feels in my hand. Horizons are being expanded, my soul warmed by the fires of the south at this distance, and there are people to meet, places to go, magic to feel, experiences to be integrated, wisdom to be deepened. It is good to be feeling hope deepen.

Presence

I love my home. Don't get me wrong. I am starting though to feel a little feint. Suddenly my own bed seems remarkably cosy and I find myself clinging to familiarities, like a barnacle. Someone asked me recently why I was doing this. It seemed suddenly like an incredibly personal question and while I answered from my truth, I felt my insides turn to jello. I seem to remember that I love to travel and I seem to remember I have always been curious about the part of the world to which I am going. I am noticing that my preparations for departure are akin to that of a zen master, it requires great focus and concentration. I realize I cannot get bogged down by the reactions of others, plans have been made, tickets bought, and now I must shoot out of the womb-like quiver of my beloved home and straight as an arrow make my mark. There is a an interior soul reconstruction that is formulating, a moving geographic meditation, as I respond to my soul that has coaxed and called me to this. As Wayne Dyer says, in a hundred years, none of us will be here, a startling but obvious thought, and one that renders perspective. Each day is a present and I go to open my presents with presence.

Honouring My Soul's Call For Movement

I am preparing to travel "down under". (What do they say when they come here? Do you think they say "up above"? Maybe not. I will try to get back to you on this.) Not only has a major earthquake just occurred where I live, a major earthquake has occurred where I am going. As if in response, my bones seems to be reverberating to all this movement and today I am booked in with a chiropractor. Are my bones responding to the earth and also to my inner call to travel? And what will be the outcome of all this movement? Sometimes it is best to be still and sometimes it is best to move. I am wondering at the timing of this but I deeply trust what is coming from within and am going with the flow, trusting all is well no matter what the crackling changes are within the bones of the earth and within the bones that contain my soul. I am grateful to be living at a time where being attuned to such new experiences are possible.