It’s about 10:30 pm Eastern Standard Time here in the US. I am (mostly) shamelessly listening to the Carpenters (among other tunes) on my Pandora radio. I have my space heater cranking in my brisk third floor room and am reveling in the simple joys of some time alone… you know, organizing and throwing away old papers, doing a little yoga, drinking hot tea. Ah, the good life! In a few hours I will usher in the day of my birth, less formally known as my Birthday. This year I celebrate 42 years of living. I am thrilled. It’s a good time to be alive.
About three hours ago I took my Reiki teacher, Elizabeth Ohmer Pellegrin, to the Philadelphia airport for her flight home to New Orleans. She came to teach a First Degree Reiki class here in Philly and for a visit. Elizabeth first came to Philadelphia to teach about 6 month ago. She has some family ties to the area. She also has another Reiki student who lives full time in Philadelphia and coordinated a class for Elizabeth in June 2012. She coordinated this most recent class as well. There is now a budding community of Reiki students in the Usui Shiki Ryoho tradition initiated by Elizabeth blooming and growing in Philadelphia.
It was a real pleasure to have Elizabeth here. It was like a wonderful burst of “home.” Much of our time together was spent in the Reiki class that she taught all day on Saturday and Sunday. It is typical for me to sit on Elizabeth’s Reiki class. Elizabeth is a wonderful teacher and after practicing Reiki for about 8 years, I always find it rewarding and beneficial to sit in on a class. It’s also fun to be able to contribute in small ways… sharing my experience with Reiki, answering a few student’s questions, and giving assistance as they are learning to give treatments. It is also a gift to be a in a Reiki class because I get to bathe in the healing energy of Reiki all weekend long. It feels sort of like taking a vacation … without having to leave the city. Also Elizabeth is a great caretaker and, when she is not busy teaching or tending to her new students, she always seems to have time to give a little extra TLC my way and make me feel like I am cared for, which is a lovely feeling.
Elizabeth has been my friend and mentor since I first became her student 8 years ago. She has been there for me persistently and with great care. We went through the great challenge and new adventures of hurricane Katrina when we were both uprooted from our home for an extended period of time. She has been there to support me through hundreds of big and little triumphs and challenges, including many of the joys and challenge of my latest adventures in travel. As she went on her way back to New Orleans I felt grateful to have spent time with her and also strong in my on two feet to continue on my journey.
Elizabeth suggested once that I celebrate my birthday one day for each year I have been alive. I have adopted that philosophy, exploring little ways to celebrate each day. Tomorrow I will begin my birthday celebration by attending a yoga class and listening to my body and being and see what else my heart desires on this day.
Thanksgiving will likely be a quiet respite for me. My host family here is traveling to be with their family in New York State. I was wholeheartedly invited to join them but I have opted for a few juicy days with some time to myself.
And so, on this Birthday Eve and nearly Thanksgiving Eve, I will leave with the spirit of thanks and gratitude… for all the lessons I have learned on this amazing journey I have been on, all of the people I have met along the way and those who have loved and supported me in taking risks and having new experiences of myself… that I would have never had if I hadn’t taken a risk and bought a ticket to Europe a year and a half ago. Yes I am grateful for the simplicity of living out of a suitcase, taking it one day at a time, and exploring the possibility of new adventures.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Photo of stunning Fall Colors in my Mt. Airy neighborhood.
Gypsy Woman 