Ahhhh the keyboard. I've been missing its touch upon my fingertips. For a few months I haven't had a chance or the mental focus to sit down and write anything more than an email, a facebook post (and sometimes those words are even hard to get out), or a hand-written note that only gives me limited paper space, so needless to say, my fingers have been at rest.
So, I'm in San Francisco now and have been for about two months. (Well right now now, I am on a train back to there from Sacramento with no iPhone to keep me distracted, but I DO have my computer without internet. Thus, a word doc and infinite pages.) So, I'm in San Francisco-- and am LOVING it. It takes a lot of energy to be there, but the energy feeds me sweetly, like how a baby gets fed from it's mother's breast, as if it’s the most necessary, nutrient-filled substance known at the moment. Of course, this intense form of energy requires frequent retreats to ensure a balance is being kept throughout my koshas.
Speaking of balance, let's talk about our 20's. Whew! What. A. Whirlwind! A fun one, for sure, among many other words that we could pull out of thin air to describe something that most of us have either been through, are going though currently, or may be quickly approaching. What I do know now that I am more than half way through is that truth is hidden unless you keep your eyes and ears wide open and your heart full of trust, hope and inspiration. If the doors are starting to close too early and we take the rocky road (oohh yummy), then we have that many more hurdles to climb over or move out of the way. I guess you could try to go through them too. There really is no right way. The way is the way is the way-- for you and me and he and she. Some of us get to this part of the road sooner and some later, and it's not just the 20's-- it keeps going, at least that's what I hear!! Awww what I'm finding is that this either excites or scares people. It's exciting when you see the light in others and can easily recognize it-- an instant connection and bubbling up of love inside. But, when someone or something is different than you are or how you want them to be or how you are used to other people being, there is a moment of hesitation, fear, ego-based reaction, that SCREAMS uncomfortability. No matter the age, I think what this time is about is figuring out the difference between love and fear, accepting that love is greater than fear (holler, Victoria) and learning how to ride the wave of love without falling off.
Then you meet people like the nice man that I exchanged a few words with in the food car of the train to give you a little shot of love from an unexpected source just to show you that it comes in all shapes and colors.... Let's just say that today, I look like I have time-warped from the Upper Haight in 1968 and this man is a modern-day Tenderloiner. J
Nice man: "Heeeey flower child. Are you gonna free the world or what?"
Me: "Hey man, I'm gonna try my best."
Nice man: "(As he passes my seat to leave the train), Free the world, girl. Free the world."
You never know. You never know where the sources of trust, hope and inspiration are going to come from. But what we can know is that we really are all one. (And no I didn’t go to Burning Man, but I did officiate a wedding yesterday for some dear friends, Shelly and Aaron.) Talk about love. Standing inches away from the real deal, true love, and seeing it their eyes as they exchanged vows, tears and ecstatic joy was such a palpable experience-- one that will be hard to forget and is already leaving me wanting more. (Aaron and Shelly, I love you guys! So honored to stand on that hill with you and usher in the next chapter of your lives!)
Love is sweet and oh so kind. I would go as far as to say that the world is sweet and oh so kind. It's just a matter of accepting it into your realm of reality. Like attracts like. Love attracts love. Hate attracts hate. And fear attracts fear. What do you attract? I choose like and love. Really, I am inspired to just choose love. Why not, right? More fun. Less stress. And a hell of a lot more beautiful. So go smell some flowers, talk to a "stranger", let your bones smile so brightly that you can't even hold back on your face, and see if a little bit more love can flourish within and around you. It's an important task right now. The world needs us to free it, one little thought and one little action at a time.
