Creatorship

And then there was that small voice...

This vacation was special. No only was there the experience of being present, there was that small voice....

Now let me be clear, the trip was not perfect, at least not in the traditional sense that many think of it. There were glitches, but they always worked out.  And each time, I heard a small voice inside say "See you are being taken care of. "

The first time was our stay at Foss State Park in OK.  The site was delightful. The birds in the prairie field across from us were active and filled the air with songs. We went to bed under the stars looking up through our mesh roof.

During the night, the wind began blowing. It got to be so vigorous we had to put the tent fly on. We noticed our "front door" pad had blown away. A cursory look with our flashlights didn't find it.

When we got up the next morning, the sky looked ominous. After some discussion, we decided to break camp and eat on the road. We took one last look along the edge of the prairie field and there it was - our blue pad. We packed up and left. It was only after we got on the highway that the storm hit. And then I heard that voice...

The next day, after a long drive, we took a chance on going to a different park then we planned, without a reservation -  Bluewater Lake State Park, NM.  We arrived later then we would have liked but after looking around we found a spot that over looked this wonderful canyon. How perfect! After setting up camp as I was gazing over the canyon, I heard that voice...."you are being taken care of."

I heard the voice again in the Dead Horse Ranch State Park in AZ after we went to talk to our "neighbor" in the truck occupying the site across from us. He was playing music way too loud for quiet time. We felt pretty centered going over to talk with him. As we approached the truck, it became obvious he was a pretty stoned. We were still feeling centered and remarkably nonjudgmental. He roused himself, thanked us for letting him know and turned the radio off. And then there was the voice...

The voice came when the lost briefcase was found by the hotel staff and was retrieved by my sister and her husband. And it came again and again. "See, you are being taken care of, you are not alone."

That sense of being taken care of has stayed with me.  It's not about not having problems, but its knowing that some how it is all perfect and that I will be fine.

3945 miles later something changed.  I think it was me.

I don't know what happened...not really

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)

...and where are you when the stars come out ?

"Ralph Waldo Emerson  once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course...We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God."    [People would camp out all over the world to see this wondrous event...wouldn't you?]

"Instead the stars come out every night, and we watch television."*


 Here's to living in wonder! The earth is a treasure, may you experience it as such. We need less distraction and more genuine awe in our lives.  As Auntie Mame once said, "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death."


*Read the rest of Paul Hawken's 2009 Commencement Speech given at The University of Portland.