Uncertainty

23 Nov

It is a brilliant cool evening in Wettenbostel. After a busy seminar weekend, my hostess is away doing a little travel and my friend and regular resident of late, Jörn, is gathering himself for a few days in his apartment in nearby Lüneburg. I am delighting in the juiciness of some time to myself. I am warm, well-fed and listening to some music by German artist, Fjarill. I don’t understand a word that she is singing, but her voice, the music and tone are satisfying. It is truly dark outside except for the slightly distant light coming from the “Big Dojo” across the way still glowing with music and life as friend and Seminar Haus electrician and general handyman is still at work.

It is already time to prepare for the next seminar. A little different as with our hostess away I am tending to some new details in the rooms… placing towels, sheets and bedding. I must say that when it comes to bedding at the Seminar Haus, my hostess here truly has it down to an art. The colors and bright patterns of her bedding fill the rooms and it is always at least a little satisfying to leave a cleaned and prepared room… complete for whoever might be entering next. The other difference this time is that I will be attending the seminar this weekend. So I am preparing space not only for our next guests, but ultimately for myself.

I am already getting ready a little bit for my upcoming departure from Wettenbostel. I leave on a train Tuesday morning for a small town in an area in the South of Germany called the Black Forest. It is known to be a beautiful area. I connected with a family there through an on-line resource called helpx. Helpx connects travelers with people in countries throughout the world interested in hosting travelers in exchange for a little work. I will be staying with a family, parents about my age with two children for a month. They have a beautiful home and from my connection to them already I feel they have warmth, experience and comfort to offer. What comes next after that… is still to be determined.

I started getting myself a little organized, going through my purse throwing out all old train itineraries and tickets so that I can find what I need as I travel. I had to laugh as when I was going through my wallet I found the American 20 dollar bill I stashed away as my emergency money for when I return to the States. It was funny to me how foreign it seemed… like my connection to it is disappearing a little somehow… my wallet now filled with Euros… well, maybe not FILLED… but supplied nonetheless….

Things shifting and changing always tugs at something inside of me. Uncertainty. There is a beauty in it. A richness that pulls me on to something… new. Like a dance. One of the requirements for dealing with uncertainty I find is exploring that balance of surrender and attending to what needs to be done. In the midst of it find I am often compelled to reach for little pieces of certainty in the present moment. Organizing my socks. Sorting my clothes and putting them in nice little piles. Sometimes getting lost in my mind as I find the things and ideas I may have been attached to. Not wanting get lost in the space of uncertainty. Thinking today about my little storage closet of personal belongings back in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans. My current mailing address…a post office box at a New Orleans neighborhood store.

Tonight’s call for dealing with uncertainty… I think a hot bath is the ticket. My body and my spirit want to rest. Let it go! Ah!

So all is well. I am well fed tonight and grateful. A yummy meal of some sautéed veggies and tofu with a little salad. I am warm in my wool clothes and comforted by the light in my room and the light I feel brewing within me. Another day. Another night. And some things are changing. There is some… uncertainty…

Photo by Gypsy Woman. A little color remains in the cold gardens at Wettenbostel.