On The Road

I enjoy travel, and fairly soon we will take off on our, what is now, traditional summer Grand Driving Tour.  This year we will drive up to Pennsylvania - both eastern and western.  Then head due West and some North to watch our middle daughter graduate from college in Seattle.  Then down Highway 1 into San Francisco where we'll catch Die Valkyrie.  And then I-don't-know-how-but we will head to San Antonio for a conference the weekend of July 4.

In light of that impending schedule you might wonder who would hop in their car and drive just weeks before?

Well, me.  I had a chance to be in the middle of the state for some meetings and so I decided to hit up three State Parks I have seen signs to for years, but never stopped to explore.  So with my new Tilley hat, binoculars and trusty little camera I stopped at:

Paynes Prairie Preserve

This is a wonderful park.  Huge and is being reclaimed and managed so that it will (hopefully) return to its natural state - before development and runoff.  Looks like they're doing a great job.  There is also a herd of bison, a herd of wild horses and loads of birds.  Saw some Sandhill Cranes ... they are extraordinary!  Way too far off to photograph, but I got some close up peeks with the binos.

Then it was off to Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Historical Site.  I've always wanted to go here because of her books - which I love. 

Walking through the hammock I really felt like time was going backwards.  It was so still, and the cricket calls were so dense I felt like they draped across my shoulders and moved with me.  I could see why she was so inspired by this landscape.

Walking along along the lake, I was immersed in old Florida in a way I haven't felt since my childhood days.  I grew up just a short drive east in St. Augustine and if you get off the beach, this is very much the scrub, cracker landscape that is the way I always think of Florida.  Regardless of how many theme parks and condos go up.

I ended up at Silver River State Park in Silver Springs (speaking of theme parks - for a vintage 1960 park, go here!) and was almost overwhelmed by the beauty ... the cloistered feeling of solitude.  I know I get a lot of alone time, but this felt fundamentally different.

For a total of $11 and the cost of gas to drive the roughly 45 miles between these three parks I had an amazing two days.  Taking the time to slow down, to pull off the road, to stop the car and get out and walk seems so simple.  I don't know why it is so rare.  In the course of my two day exploration and miles of hikes I saw exactly 5 people.  A retired couple, a student from England, and the canoeing couple on the Silver River.

So much beauty.  So few people enjoying it.

At the hotel where I stayed there were LOTS of people, glued to the television watching Fox & Friends discuss taking away the Miranda rights of terrorists.  While I believe that just about ANYTHING would be better than watching Fox News, I am absolutely certain that getting out in the nature that surrounds and sustains this part of the world could make a dramatic difference in someone's outlook and sense of perspective.

So, now I've sort of primed the pump for the big drive.  I have some organizational and logistical issues to work out ... packing, weather-checking, graduation present buying.  Perhaps taking some flags for the gravesite of Joe's dad (he died in WWII). 

But mostly I am grateful that my life allows me to take a moment and breathe some clean, fresh air.


Oh - and I crossed this:

What's not to love about that?  :)

World Labyrinth Day

This Saturday - May 1 - is World Labyrinth Day.  The celebration calls on people all over the world to walk a Labyrinth that day!  How cool is that?  There is a "Walk As One at 1" walk for peace too!  You can read more about it here: The Labyrinth Society 

In the meantime, I've planted some flowers in the small garden patches:

My pictures don't really do it justice.  I think I'll take a video walk and try to post that! 

I have had some wonderful walks,

and found some terrific books,

and so I'm really loving it!

TIme Out For Gardening

Labyrinth Is Complete!

I put in this bench

so I could look at this:

Today I finished dragging the last piles of dirt

into the paths

and even got some flowers planted

and herbs.

Tomorrow morning I walk.

I envision quite a few little creatures like this

and memorials 

of people I have held in my  heart.

I am pretty grateful.

And pretty amazed!

Mask Work

Over the course of my 30's and 40's I was fortunate enough to participate in an amazing series of intensive workshops with Marion Woodman, Mary Hamilton and Ann Skinner.  Their creation was called "BodySoul Rhythms" and over the course of eight days we would work on dreams, imagery, healing, movement and voice.

In the process we would create a Mask.  They were never to be considered "art" nor are they for display.  But rather these Masks are containers, holders of energy, and tangible expressions to work with as we would bring deep material up from the unconscious.  Powerful stuff.  Changed my life.

This was my first.

The energy I was working with was vast, vibrant, colossal, natural and sad.

The painted eyes are wide open, but the ability to see through the small holes (when worn) was quite limited.

I found that very much a part of the energy - it was very big and very powerful, but I couldn't see where I was going.

This energy felt royal and regal.  Her eyes are wide open.  Her copper skin is rich and warm.

The energy here was a major movement in differentiation and maturity.

I was in the midst of great learning, and I was integrating so much understanding - mostly of dreams but also of Jung's writings.

During this time I also decided to go back to school.

This Mask was a lot of fun, and an amazing experience.

Working with Masculine energy - so focused and also Nature.  Delving into Green Man Myths and seeing him appear in my dreams was a real joy.

During this time I was becoming more comfortable with paradox.  I was letting go of so many of my childhood viewpoints.  I began to take full responsibility for my life.

 I felt strong.


There are four more Masks.  Each a different stage, each with something to teach me.  Each still carries an enormous amount of energy and learning for me.

I could put on any of these Masks and move into the space that it holds.  Feeling the richness of my past and also be connected to my present.  I use them in movement, allowing my body to feel what the "newness" such a difference in consciousness makes.

This may all sound pretty flaky.  I get that.

But I tell you these parts of my life because today I did something entirely new, different and it has had a profound affect on me.

I went to the funeral home and I made a "Mask" of Ann's hand.  Her one good hand.  I was able to hold and honor her hand - the same one held and loved by her parents, sisters and friends throughout her life.   I was able to bring my full attention and love this one part of her precious body that won't be going on any more.  She has exquisite long fingers, so strong and so graceful.  I know my work isn't professional or artisanal, and it certainly isn't perfect.  But it is filled with love.

I will sand and finish the edges, and then give this to her parents and sisters.  They may want to embellish or paint it.  They may want to do nothing.  But I am so glad I was able to do this work - to give them this memorial.  I don't imbue this with any magic or sacredness - other than the precious hand on which it was modeled.

I continue to be moved by the experience.

3:20 pm Good Friday

Ann died today.

We are heartbroken and at the same time immersed in a powerful love.

Still no words can suffice.

Thank you - to anyone who has prayed, thought or cared.

Love

I feel almost like a voyeur.  To see, to experience, to stand next to, to open to the amazing love that is possible in the course of being human.

I was fortunate enough to have the chance to spend about 30 minutes with Kate and Ann this afternoon.  To stand next to Ann, stroke her arm and leg... listen to her mom talk about her riding horses, and playing tennis... to watch her chest rise and fall with peace and regularity.

And also to hear Kate talk about organ donation and the process of letting go and knowing that her daughter will die ... tomorrow?  And to hear about the visits they have had with Conor's family .... the healing that has begun between these two families who were united in friendship for years.

I am in awe.  Really.

The human body is so strong and vibrant, and so fragile and delicate.  So is the spirit -- the choice to love, the ability to be present. 

I'm not profound, and I can't express the depth of what it feels like... and its not my story to tell.  But I am overflowing....  She is beautiful.  This is Ann with her two sisters -- she is on the left.  She is so beautiful.