I already know this one is going to be long so please try to
follow along and hang in there with me to the end. The message is REALLY simple
but takes (took) some weeding to get there.
I believe in the power of the Universe (Universe can be
substituted for God, Buddha, Krishna…..insert any word as you wish) and on this
Soul’s Journey I am on I am doing my best to be connected to my center so that
I can get the messages needed to follow the guidance as to where best my soul
will be nourished for the growth I not only desire but believe I am being
called to acquire. I am not just on a “vacation”. I still have bills to pay and
need to make money while on the road. I am on a journey of the deepest
self-knowledge so that I may then be the best teacher for others. This trip is
not just about or for me!
My intention is to gain the best sound psychological
insights in order to gather innate wisdom of the psyche. My own journey led me
to study the art of self growth and counseling, in graduate school (a couple
years ago), with an emphasis on transpersonal psychology which is the study of
human nature and behavior which lays particular emphasis on spiritual
aspiration and the search for higher meaning in life. I have been lead to
continue such studies on the road!
Let’s go back to a few days ago in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I
had planned on staying there for one day and night to somewhat relax and
re-ground after spending 5 days with my son in his home. When planning this
trip I could not wait to get to his house. Since he joined the Air Force,
almost 6 years ago, I have only been able to see him once, sometimes twice a
year. On the last couple of days at his house I was feeling frustrated with the
nagging feeling that I was feeling ready to move on. This frustration spiraled
into me feeling frustrated that I was feeling frustrated…lol…you get the point.
It took just two minutes of me talking to my Soul Couch and friend to bring me
back to center enough to know that when feeling frustrated you are not
following your intuition and I definitely was not. I “fell back” into mom-mode
and tourist and was doing the things I felt I was “supposed” to do and nothing
was feeling intuitive. I was energetically feeling low and with no energy and
sleeping more than usual so I decided to stop off in Sante Fe before heading to
my next adventures in Colorado.
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| Me and my son Kenny (Drew) at his softball game the night I arrived to Alamogordo, New Mexico. |
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| My son and his girlfriend took me out to line dance. |
One of the difficulties I have had on this trip is feeling
anxious to move on and see all that I can so I took a “detour” to Sante Fe to
kind of regroup. I got a cheap motel room so I could just hibernate for a night
on my own and to meditate and write. Well, my computer would not connect to the
hotel’s WiFi so all night I felt antsy and….frustrated. I set out the next
morning to a diner to eat breakfast while I jumped on my computer and that was
great. I sat there for about 4 hours (it was also raining outside) catching up
on lots of work I had to do and researching where to go next. I was torn
between going to Taos, NM where I wanted to CouchSurf with a lady (a Medical
Intuitive) who I found out that morning would not be available until the next
night, or to go to a town called Abiquiu in New Mexico to go to a lavender
field. Since this trip is largely about me getting outside my comfort zone to
expand and grow I thought I would check out the hostel in town, I learned about
while researching on the Internet at the diner, to stay there so I could hang
out for another day to be available to stay with the Intuitive the next night.
I felt like it must be a sign that she would house me for free and that she
might have some insight for me. I had always been curious about staying at a
hostel and although the idea wasn’t all together comfortable for me I thought it
would be an eye opening experience. I had always wished I had backpacked
through Europe when I was much younger while staying at hostels. People have
told me that US hostels are different and I have been tempted to try.
I drove by the hostel and…I just could not do it. I drove in
the parking lot and cruised around looking at the building from all sides. Although it got pretty good reviews, it
looked so run down and “nasty”. I internally beat myself up for a few minutes when
I raced out of the parking lot because I was not “brave enough” to stay there.
After all, this soul’s journey is to step out of my comfort zone and connect
with others. This internal beat down lasted a while as I drove around Santa Fe
looking for somewhere with Internet to fire up my computer again to look for
somewhere to stay that night. I must have circled that damn town for, no joke,
3 hours. It was raining and the roads were crowded. I punched Starbucks into my
Garmin and it took me 15 minutes out of the way and to a location that was NOT
a Starbucks. It re-routed me back to where I started, I got to the Starbucks and
it only had outdoor seating and it was still raining so I looked and found yet
another location. It took me another long while to get to that location but I
was thrilled to find it and that it had seating inside. I bought myself a drink
, sat down, fired up my computer only to find out their Internet was down.
UGH!!! Now where? I pretty much stomped to my car and drove to the closest
McDonalds. In there I was able to get on and saw there was a KOA in town
(yay!). It was still raining so I booked a little cabin and I immediately felt
excited at the idea of my own cabin for the night. In order to stay on the road
as long as possible, to see all I want to see and learn all that is “needed”, I
not only need to make money but I need to conserve it as well and spend as
little on lodging as possible which is one reason for not staying in hotels.
Hotels are out of my price range and there is a lack of connection in hotels. I
like to seek out CouchSurfing opportunities (to stay for free) wherever I can
then an Airbnb but both take a bit of planning ahead which I have not yet
mastered while on the road. So, I left McDonalds and stopped at the closest gas
station to fuel up before heading to the KOA. While at the pump an older man
started conversation with me when he saw my car had California plates. I told
him where I was headed and he suggested a restaurant for me (Joe’s Diner: http://joesdining.com)
that had farm to fork food and that was out of this world.
I thanked him and
headed to the KOA where I checked in, unloaded my stuff and headed back out to
that restaurant. I sat at the counter at Joe’s while my food was being
prepared, to take back to my cute little cabin, and the nicest waiter started
talking with me, or wait….maybe I started talking with him….lol Either way, he
gave me great suggestions for where to go the next day with one of the things
being the Lavender Fields I had been contemplating about going to. He even drew
me a little map of that area with where I had to grab some lunch and a spot to
stop at a lake. I was excited about his suggestions and knew that was the way I
was going to go the next day. I brought my grass fed BBB burger (Bleu cheese,
bacon and BBQ sauce) back to my cabin and had a party in my mouth. That is the
term I use when the food is totally scrumptious!!!
The next morning I packed up my stuff and headed out towards
Abiquiu to go to the Lavender Fields. As soon as I got there I went straight to
the restaurant he suggested, which was actually a general store with a kitchen
in the back (Bode’s: http://www.bodes.com). Who am I to judge? Hee-hee! I
ordered a vegetarian sandwich with a side salad and OMG it was fantastic. So
fresh and yes, another party in my mouth. While I was sitting in the little
back room of the general store devouring my food the strangest thing happened.
A lady walked by me and gave me a little smile. I swore I knew her but couldn’t
place her for the longest time. Finally it hit me that she was the spitting
image of my grandmother (on my mother’s side) who passed away when I was a
little girl. This lady looked younger than I ever remembered my grandmother but
I would swear it was her, or at least her identical twin. I left wishing I had
spoken to her but I was in a bit of shock when I placed whom she looked like.
The experience felt beautifully eerie!
I headed down the street to find out the lavender had been
harvested just a few weeks prior leaving no lavender to be seen. I was about to
be frustrated with myself for not researching the place prior but I had the
feeling that I was right where I was supposed to be regardless of the lavender.
I took a short walk to the tea house and sat with some lavender iced tea and
lavender gelato. Still again I felt antsy sitting there for too long although
the view was spectacular and so relaxing.
I sat for a few minutes then headed
into the shop where I began talking to the guy who worked there about the
surrounding area. As do most people I meet on the road, he gave me a suggestion
as to where to go next. Actually, this guy did not only give me a suggestion he
told me that I absolutely could not leave the area without going to the Georgia
O’Keefe center just 16 miles up the road. I told him I never even heard of her
and he teased that I might be the only human that hadn’t. Have you? Anyway, I
told him I had about one hour of exploring I could do before I had to head out
to get to the campsite in Colorado before sundown that I was aiming for. He
told me to just go…..to be continued…..I told you this would be long!!
Thanks for hanging in there with me! ;)
I suppose my opinions
thus far, of Alabama may be biased by their spectacular backyard. I could quite
possibly stay in their yard forever and be content. It has a wonderful covered
porch right out the back door, which has a fan so it never really gets too hot,
and of course the beautiful pool that Darin keeps sparkling clean and then the
wonderful lake/pool. I have not determined yet for sure if it is a lake or a
pond. There is a debate amongst Darin and Jacque about that technicality but I
think it is magnificent none the less. Just across the lake from their house is
a landing of grass and on the other
side is a fabulous creek that runs for miles and miles in either direction.
Darin took me canoeing across the lake which was my first time ever in a canoe,
and we went exploring down the embankment and into and down the creek, walking
through it the whole way. It was about 85 degrees out at the time but the trees
blocked the sun a bit and made the temperature quite pleasant. We were not able
to walk for as long as I would have liked because it was getting dark and we
did not bring a light and would have been eaten alive by the bugs but we were
lucky to get back in time to see the glow of the sun still on the water.
