Two Blue Eggs

 By Maryanna Gabriel

As I pack, I am thinking about home and carrying it within myself. It is not so much a place, but a state of mind. Following my process in the epic events of life brings me to new depths inwardly, and in the voyage I discover who I am, and come home to myself. Er, at least that is the idea. When a place does not work, one nests elsewhere. At least that is the case with me. 

Two Blue Eggs

You may remember, a robin made herself at home in a basket of petunias that hung outside by my door -  an omen of good cheer. She was a companion of sorts and we watched each other, she and I. One day, far too many people came and rang the noisy doorbell. At one point she flew at the head of a serviceman. She disappeared. I missed her. 

Now it is fall and as I take down my flowering baskets, I have discovered the treasure she guarded... two perfect little blue eggs. Her two babies. Oh my.

I feel badly for her. I swear at times she comes and watches me. She has a white band around her pupil and as she eyes me, I squint speculatively back. Are you my robin? How are you? I'm so sorry about your eggs. 

I wonder if she was able to build a nest elsewhere but somehow I think not, that it was too late in the season. 

Nesting is like that. I feel sad this is so. 

Being On The Inside

 By Maryanna Gabriel

I thought I had landed in heaven. Feeling discouraged about a home that got away on me, a real sweetie pie, I sought to soothe my soul in a cafe. An early morning fire was crackling soothingly. Yellow checked curtains hung with little ruffs and framed wood windows where plants hung. The walls were sanded barn board with rustic painted murals, sheep in the sunlight, a farmer reaping hay, that kind of thing. The table was a work of art where objects such as shells were beautifully arranged, I suppose in a coating of fiberglass, that held it together. The sound of Irish pipes played in the background. My

heart opened. 

It felt like heaven. Santa Claus came down this chimney and surely elves froliced in the garden. Nothing could ever possibly go wrong in a place like this and all the shadows of the world and in my life receded. Problems felt like little butterflies. I realized I had forgotten my glasses and stepped outside towards the car. A young, well-dressed woman lay collapsed, abutted onto the building, but also sprawled on the sidewalk with her bicyle to one side. Drugs. 

Here I was inside having a lovely coffee being warmed by the fire, feeling to be caught in a vision, and she lay in the cold on the hard concrete, as autumn leaves fell. It's weird how it all is. 

The Gaza

By Maryanna Gabriel..

T'is an eclipse, which generally indicates change, and what a wallop for the Middle East. When will we trade our swords for plowshares?

When I was twenty years old, I travelled with a friend to many places. One of them was working on a kibbutz in Israel in the Ha Nagev which was close to Gaza. Later, it would be given to the Palestinians in a peace treaty. Stricken by the recent news, I dug out my journal wondering what I would find. (Yes, I have been writing that long). It wasn't exactly relaxing. 

"It was just another normal day in the kitchen of Nirim. I was filling up the vegetable cleaning machine with carrots when the air raid siren went off. I have heard the sound before at home (in Canada) and thought nothing of it. However, in Israel with the Gaza Strip so close, I believe my heart missed a beat. I watched the women pour out of the dining room, the granary, and the store, as I stood poised by the machine. Everything stopped as people gazed at the sky. Mother's thought instinctively of their children

Missile Drawing - Dream In Israel

in the Etrog (nursery) and memories of the October war of  '73 must have been present. 

Then people began to move again. The spell was broken. It was an accident. Someone had pushed the button by mistake. I remember this country is surrounded on all sided by hostile neighbours. A fitful night as I go to sleep and the room crackles with light as if electrified. I dream I am wrestling with an unseen force and awaken cold with fear....A bomb went off in Jerusalem killing 16 people, and injuring 60 others."

Not what you would call vacation material. A new generation has forgotten violence begets same. A ghastly history repeats itself. My heart aches for the suffering.  

Not A Stick In The Mud

 By Maryanna Gabriel

Well, you certainly can't say I'm a stick in the mud. I've been up and down the coast several times, have criss-crossed British Columbia, but I am having a hard time finding a home. So many almosts and near misses that I am starting to take the hint. I think I am just going to give up and focus on what is next which is packing. A lot to do in a move. The wind is shifting when it comes to the economy and real estate anyway; waiting is not going to hurt. 

I have been on the move with my search for some time. Quite honestly? I am looking forward to the next step when I get to be still for awhile. An act of faith, really. 

On a bright note, Anita Adams, a podcaster. and life coach, recently interviewed me. Her podcast is called
"Joyful Journeys". I will post a link when it is published. She wanted to know about the Camino and I talked about my book and journey. 

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! May your turkey be merry and bright. 

Eagle In The Morning

 By Maryanna Gabriel

"You are the universe in ecstatic motion."

                                        - Rumi

    

Bright days are still upon us as summer disappears. Feeling betwixt and between things, I was lucky to get away and visit a beach yesterday. The morning was very cold but sunny and clear.

It seemed a sign somehow. An eagle was pulling apart a salmon for his breakfast. Watching him on the still ocean water, snow-capped mountains as a backdrop, with miles of beach, was one of those moments where one stops rabbiting away with one's mind and just breathes. Such beauty reflects the love that we are, so important to honour and safeguard.