Last weekend was moving day for me… again. I departed my original landing pad and headed in a slightly new direction. Just a little northwest really, to another part of town. As I pack up my belongings I can’t help but notice the “one-carload” life that I arrived in Asheville with has already expanded beyond that. As I somewhat hesitantly dip my toe just a little further into life back in the States, I am already a far cry away the neat and tidy two-suitcase life that was mine for several years.
I arrived in Asheville with a little work in exchange for a place to stay (through helpx.net), a need to find paying work, and a curiosity for the area. Now almost four months later, I have a job originally offered as part-time that quickly burst into more. Consequently, I was no longer able to keep up with my original work/trade agreement and as a result had to find a new living circumstance.
I have to note I couldn’t have been more fortunate with my landing living arrangement. The residents of the house where I lived have been kind, generous and gracious to me. The young couple who lived here for much of the time have moved on to their next adventure in New Orleans. But while they were here they were fun, kind and respectful. As I too head on to my “next experience” I am grateful to be spending more time in the Asheville area.
While I am earnestly not sure yet if I can call Asheville “home”, how long I will stay, or what the landscape of this next phase of life will look like, I can say there are plenty of things that are good for me here. Recently after our “big snow storm” that left us freezing and covered in snow for a few days, I was so grateful when the cold broke and it was nearly 60 degrees. That morning I headed out of the house and made my way to the park. It’s so great to be in a community of like-minded park goers. When I arrived at about 9am on a weekday the parking lot was nearly full. There were circles of school groups being led in environmental education by teachers. A photographer pointed out to me the new duckling swimming in the water with a white beak. And of course I can’t forget the rushing river water, mountains and blue sky surrounding me that always makes me feel just a little more at ease.
The new year has come and gone and as I drift into 2017 I try to keep in mind some of the wisdom I received for this new year. My Reiki community hosted a world-wide webinar that I “sunk into” on New Years day. Phyllis Lei Furumoto, the grand master of the Reiki Usui Shiki Ryoho tradition, spoke and what struck me most was her message of the importance of being authentic. It reminded me that this is one of the gifts of the practice of Reiki – a gentle healing energy ushering you into the depth of your true self. Sometimes slowly like a wave. Sometimes quickly like being thrown into the deep end. The depth and breadth of Phyllis’ own journey and her years of experience with Reiki brought to life the fullness, wisdom and growth available through the practice that happens… sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, but accumulates over a lifetime. I am really grateful to be on that journey, sometimes gracefully, sometimes less so..melting into the space that is my own.
The other night I went to a local SGI meeting with two desires – the need to chant and gather with others and honestly the need to “get out”. As is so often the case, I was so grateful that I went. After an easy hour of chanting and conversation, when I departed that evening it was as if a load was taken off my shoulders and I just felt like I could breathe. It felt like for the first time in a while I could relax for a bit and see in retrospect the quite large and expansive journey I have been on. In the moment I heaved a sign of relief, laughed and took in the fullness of it.
It’s a rainy Sunday in Asheville and I am here in my new space, decor style let’s just call it… minimalist. I am grateful for a new landing pad, the patch of forest there to greet me outside my doorway, and the gentle sweetness of the new community and landscape surrounding me. A little new beginning in the New Year with my expanded belongings as I continue my own journey of growth and expansion.
Gypsy Woman 