The Comfort Zone...

beware the addicting lure

of the comfort zone

its sly seductive tentacles

reaching, grabbing, wrapping,

encasing and imprisoning….

one day you awaken

and find yourself sinking

stuck in the quicksand

that is the familiar

huddling there

settling for sameness

ignoring the beat of the drum within

oblivious to the trailing ties

of the floating dreams

you didn’t even know were cut loose.

i wrote this before we left on our trip to washington.  and i am still struggling with it.  my life here is so very comfortable….. yet i do feel the call within, the call of the wild.  

 i have been feeling it for a long time and for various reasons was not free to heed it.  the time has come now and we are moving forward.  stepping out toward the unknown, terrified and exhilarated at the same time. 

Upcoming Investigation

 

it’s been going on for a while…. our love affair with the pacific northwest.  every summer we seem to be drawn there and continue to be completely smitten with the wildness of it, the rugged beauty, the dog-friendliness, the green, cool, misty climate and the myriad of intriguing places to explore.

there’s been talk of making it more permanent…. especially after the dry, scorching summer we have had.  but we are southern californians.  we’ve lived here 40+ years and are not used to “weather” of any kind, be it rain, damp, cold or snow.  and we have friends.  acquaintances.  connections. involvements.  how could we ever leave all that? 

well, we are not sure that we can.  but life is short and we want to be open to new options.  not stay stuck in our comfort zone.  be willing to try something new.  so we are heading up one more time. straight to the olympic peninsula, the rain shadow in particular (only 16 or so inches of annual rain).

this time, not a vacation so much as a fact-finding mission.  we are purposely choosing october and november to sample the cool, rainy weather.  we will be looking at real estate.  dreaming a little and hoping to meet the locals.  finding out what they love and don’t love about the area.  exploring the art community.  the services and hiking trails. 

could be that it won’t work out and we will come back happy to be where we are.  or…. who knows?  keeping an open mind. will keep you posted.

 

Togetherness

i just spent a week hanging out in one of my favorite places on earth (cambria, ca).  so much raw beauty, direct access to big sur and hearst castle, hiking trails, tidepools and beaches, cool inviting temperatures and diverse and interesting places to see and things to do.  what could be better?  well, how about sharing the time with some people near and dear to me that i don’t get to see very often?

big sur coastline

mcway falls

morning visitors

my sister and brother and their spouses came out from michigan (by plane and car, respectively) and we all met at a spacious house we had rented, complete with a deck and lovely pacific view.  how cool is that? 

chillin in the beach house

ocean view

ron's famous stir-fry

posing on the bluff hike

 we all talked about the fact that we know a lot of families that could never do something like this. differences, grudges, old resentments and bitterness keep some from spending even a short time together.  sad. not that we do not have our differences – far from it!  we have taken different paths in life and do not all share the same interests and beliefs.  a week is a lot of togetherness and it was not without a few challenges. 

say cheese!

so much cool marine life

looking for moonstones

in the end, though, the times of sharing memories and laughs, ideas and support for each other is what stands out.  quality time, so many conversations….  i’m so very fortunate to have a family that is still healthy and intact.  we are all getting older and realize the preciousness of this time…. blessed and so very grateful for the opportunity.

 

dog friendly beaches

me and my sibs

the last night

Reaching Revisited

wow – so here we are in august.  before we know it it will be fall and this year will be winding down.  it seemed like a good time to re-visit my word of the year choice: reach.  

this is my 5^th year of doing this and i can honestly say that it has been a powerful practice.  each year i have a journal to correspond with my word.  i use the right side of the page to jot down ways in which the word has manifested in my daily life.  i use the left side of the page to jot down brainstorming ideas of what else i could try related to the word.  if i end up doing those things, i cross them off.  the others i look back at from time to time.

what has been particularly interesting this year is the division between reaching OUT, reaching IN and reaching UP.  the reaching out part is a little more obvious, but i have made it a priority to find new ways to reach UP to the vastness and mystery that surrounds us and to reach IN through silence, meditation and intuitive writing.

reaching OUT is always in the back of my mind too and has prompted me to move into some new and interesting situations and relationships.

at this point, it’s too early for me to think about next year, but i’m pretty sure i will continue with yet another word because i do like where it takes me.