Our days were spent driving, finding campsites, making dinner, and in the middle, staying at a hotel while we had a great visit with my sister and her husband in Prescott Valley, AZ. It sounds like any other vacation, except it wasn't.
My husband and I camped our way to AZ from OH using our wonderful Marmot tent, staying mostly at state parks.
We decided to forgo radio, CDs, books on tape... We set our intention to be present - something we'd both been practicing.
Presence can be understood many ways. One that works for me is Tolle's power of the present moment. It's being aware of your body and what's around you. It is connecting to an energy inside.
Well, 3945 miles later it became clear.
Something had changed for both of us.
Maybe it was that we got used to the quiet. Maybe we got used to being in our bodies (centered, anchored) vs. our heads. Maybe it was that we took things as they came with acceptance. Maybe it was because we were enjoying the incredibly beautiful land around us; the birds, the scenery, the spaciousness of it all.
Maybe we were just more aware and therefore, somehow more alive.
Whatever it was, we both found a place inside that was calm and peaceful. I felt nourished. It was a way of being I wanted to continue.
I had the experience of what life could be like living from presence.
....and still there was more.
(see next post)