Connections

Preparations to leave for 2+ years take many forms, mostly lists: To do, to sort, to get, to give away, to sell, to store, to somehow get my affairs in order. It’s interesting, since at the core is a life-changing, but not life-threatening, event. Nevertheless, the many forms and the intensity of the preparations surprise me.

I just returned from a week in the city. For those of you too young, or geographically not in the know, that means San Francisco and the Bay Area.

A week spending time with friends and family with a depth of connection I wish could always be present. The Peace Corps was a piece of it, but mostly we spoke of those things most important at the moment. For many of us, that meant events that either we are creating or that are happening and must be addressed and integrated into our lives. Health issues for ourselves or close family, decisions about retirement dates, communication, the dynamics of relationships, and other major changes became our topics. We shared easily, naturally, from the heart.

The backdrop was the City and Marin in Technicolor:

• a sunny ferry boat ride, the Golden Gate above white sails
• a picnic and walk on Angel Island,  
• a stroll down a street in Sebastopol alive with sculptures incorporating puns,  humor and recycled materials,
• a lunch above Kelly’s Beach in San Francisco, the clouds rolling in and a couple of whales rolling and breaching in front of Seal Rock,
• a drive through the fog into sunshine,
• dinner at the collective that now resides where a dozen of us once created a commune.

Through it all, I strove to be present, to experience my now. It got a little easier.

It was a journey that will warm me in times to come when I feel alone, questioning who I am and what I am doing. The connections ran deep and clear and strong. I wonder what it takes to allow that level to become the norm.

So my challenge all of us now is to imagine that we are going away for a couple of years. As we spend time with friends or family, ask ourselves: What will we share? What do we want to know? What new "normal" will we establish?

Life Changing Events

 As departure for Africa grows closer, so does its reality. It rates right up there in the top “Life Changing Events” of my life: college, moving to Oregon, becoming a river guide, flying a Cessna 150 through Central America, cancer, retirement,  marriage and divorce (not necessarily in that order). And with such changes comes a clarity I have not found other ways.

Knowing my daily reality will soon change, I strive to be present:  to really feel the warm water cascading over me in the shower, to appreciate the snow that appears and disappears from the surrounding hills, to take a moment to let the awe of a redwood grove overtake me, and to stand on the shore, knowing I am on the edge of a continent. Why it’s so hard to be present in this way when change isn’t imminent is a mystery, but it also seems to be a fact.

I find I’m looking inward, too, as I prepare to set aside many of my “givens” and make room for a new normal. But I’ve discovered there are some things so deeply a part of me that they are imprinted on my being. When life is changed, the non-essentials tend to get washed clear, leaving the bedrock beliefs revealed. As I travel my daily paths, I find them awaiting me. Epiphanies. Words to fit around beliefs.

Each day it seems something new surfaces. Today I discovered that a healthy person – that’s me! – stays away from those who intentionally hurt her. Sounds so basic, and yet it’s so easy to make excuses for another person, allowing her to go on causing pain.

Some days, as I sort through piles of papers and other accumulated – um, things, I discover treasures amid the junk. Makes me think about wants and needs and how easy it is to confuse the two. Clearing out the extras feels so freeing, so clean. I know if I were to re-sort, I’d get rid of lots more. How much unnecessary emotional baggage am I carrying? Ah, I wish it were as easy to recycle, trash, or give that away.

I challenge myself – and you, Reader – to be present while doing one thing each day. Slow down, stop multi-tasking, and experience whatever it is you choose as your one thing. Pay attention to it. Take a few minutes of your day to be Now. It may turn out that doing so will be one of our life changing events.

Links and a Visual

April, 2013

Ah, the joys of learning new technology.

For those of you who are curious about Swaziland, you can learn more than you’ll ever want to know at the official Swazi PC site 

If you’re interested in Peace Corps publications, try these great resources

and for those of you who are interested in news and events there, try this news service:  AllAfrica

Looks like Swaziland is about the same size as the State of Jefferson, give or take a bit. Must be some meaning in that?!?  I turned Josephine and Jackson counties sideways to show a comparison of sizes. Swazi borders are in yellow, county borders in white.

The to do list keeps growing; I believe it multiplies in the computer when I'm not looking. Luckily I have strong faith that it will all be done before I leave. Or else <grin>.