The Call

In the words of Marianne Williamson: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Northwest Report

Almost two weeks in Port Townsend, Washington! My, how time has flown. What a glorious place this is with it's snow covered peaks, waterways and forests. We can see the Olympic range draped in it's winter coat of white from our chairs in the front room. On clear days we can see Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainer and the Cascades. This feels like home to us. We feel good in this environment.

We will be house/pet sitting here into the New Year. Our charges are one very large black dog (lab mix) - Markus and 2 cats, Suzie and Mimi. The cats are feral. Their owner, MaryAnn, has tamed them enough to be indoors. They are locked away in a bedroom while the bathroom remodel construction goes on here. They seem content enough in their room. Suzie has her leg in a cast from an injury she suffered when she escaped into the crawl space below the house. She spends most of her time securely nestled into the corner of a carpet lined box. She goes back to the vet in two weeks and has her cast removed. I am sure she'll be glad and so will we. She can't lift her bum leg into the litter box and often misses. Jay and MaryAnn have 2 horses who are boarded out in the country. We go by there once a week for a visit and to deliver a large bag of carrots.

We are camped out here but quite comfortable. The owner's have not moved their household furnishings up from California yet. We have a nice bed, camp chairs, a folding table, fridge, stove, washer and dryer. They recently installed a lovely gas fireplace, the nicest we have ever seen. The fire very much resembles the many campfires we have warmed ourselves by. We sit around the fire in the morning and evening.

This area requires exploring. No matter which road you take, it eventually reaches the water. The other day we were driving along the banks of the Dungeness Wildlife area near Sequim when we spied a bald eagle, high atop a scraggly pine. My photo doesn't do it justice. When I mention bald eagles to the locals, I get a "ho-hum" response. I hope I never get there since it is so exciting everytime we see one. The weather is grey with lots of sun breaks. The sky is constantly changing. Yesterday, as I was driving to the post office, the Cascade Mountains were awash in brilliant sunlight even though we were in the grey. The contrast was surrealistic but alas, when I grabbed for the camera, I realized that I had left it at home.

We have tried two Unity churches now, one here in Port Townsend and one in Kingston. Our plan is to go over to Sequim next Sunday, then make a decision about which one feeds our spirits best. Until the next time.
Charlotte

Saturday, November 13, 2004

Nesting and Passing Time

Charlotte: Since leaving Sacramento and moving up to the Grass Valley area we have been a little down all week. We feel lost. It occurs to us that even though we love to travel, experience new places and meet new people, perhaps we need a nest somewhere. Moving is supposedly a very stressful experience and I think we are feeling some of that this week. Without a nest, maybe this moving every few months is taking a toll on us. As we think back, it seems like we get down every time we move. We love the feeling we get when we hit the road, headed to a new place... but the week before we leave and about the first week after we arrive at our new destination we are down in the dumps. Is there a pattern here? Duh? It is especially hard this time because we have made so many friends in Sacramento. We are leaving "family" behind this time but we know that we will return for visits.

We are excited about heading back to our beloved northwest. It feels more like home that any other place we have been. We haven't been back in almost 2 years now. Maybe before we think about any more housesits we should find a place to call home. It would be fun to get all of our worldly goods out of storage. It would be like Christmas since we haven't seen any of our "stuff" in so long. We stored everything away in 1997 and hit the road. It would be nice to have a place to go back to once in awhile..... a place where we have "community" and a sense of family. We'll be at our next housesitting assignment in Pt. Townsend, Washington next week. Perhaps being there will help us in answering some of these questions.

Larry: I've been taking a break from my farm chores by sitting on the front porch watching a kingfisher hunt for his breakfast. What a simple life, eating what you catch when you're hungry. I was watching the leaves fall from a tree - talk about being present! One or two leaves would drift down, then a breeze would pluck a dozen or more so that a flurry of leaves fell. The ground beneath the tree was solid with yellow and orange color. I was struck by the metaphor of life and passing time . Our days float by like the leaves of autumn, some days faster than others, some weeks fly by without our noticing - all joining the past and accumulating around us. In order to appreciate our time here, we must stay present and watch each day as it drifts toward the past. Too quickly, our life will be represented by the stark bareness of the leafless branches.