Monday, April 11, 2011

Headed North

Once again I find myself speeding away on a train, gliding gracefully along carefully laid tracks purposefully positioned, or so I lime to think, beside the most beautiful route between here and there.  It's just me, my pack, my scattered thoughts, and those other travelers who also chose to go rather than stay.  
I can't help but think how often I have been in such a situation with just me, my pack and strangers connected in silent suspended moments of our lives.  Each of us in our own point along individual journeys, but for a few hours those points are the same, contained in the 7th car of a twelve car train headed north.  The same sun beats on us through the window, the same puget sound lays idle in the window, the same snore of a sleeper floats in the air, an opportunity to be heard by all who have left the openings to their ear canals unrestricted.  And although I haven't any plans to speak to any ears, open or not, I know that I am connected with these people we form each others journey.  I am a part of their experience just as much as they are a part of mine.  And though we sit silent and pacific we have something in common, going north.  
And I wonder why it is that my main community constantly consists of such strangers.  Why it is I surround myself with them as I am carried to and from friends and family.  Why it is my friends and family are constantly asking "where are you now?" or "where are you headed?" my moves so frequent they cannot catch up.  "I don't know what comes next" I want to say.  "Ask the woman reading post secrets on her lap top next to me or the couple across the aisle who has been traveling all the way from Los Angeles.  This is where life has brought us and who are we to know where it will take us tomorrow.  Whether this time we stay home, get to be accompanied by a friend, a love, a  similar soul, or get called, once again out on our own to be involved in the lives of those yet unknown to us, potential family.  We know we are here now.  We may know where we would like to be tomorrow or in a year, but above that we know that our lives are a complicated web pelt events and points of view that do not belong to us.  How are we to know where the builders have laid the end of these tracks?  We just know that, for now, we have to ride.  And today, we are headed north."

Friday, April 1, 2011

A day in my life

Yesterday provides a great example of a typical day in my life and why I am jealous of myself...

I slept in till 10 and listened to an hour of "The Geurnsy Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" on cd before going down to the kitchen and making myself a breakfast of cut up bananas and strawberries on te side of mixed veggies and ground turkey flavoured with cumin. I ate this in my kitchen overlooking the blue Bellingham bay with a scattered cloudy sky.
After resolving a trip to fairhaven was a good way to spend the day I got dressed, sat on the front steps of my house for about 15 minutes soaking up the rare sun and noticing the signs of springs: slowing growing leaves on trees, flies jumping from bush to bush and lady bugs crawling on the ground.
I proceeded to the purple moped I am borrowing, fired her up and scooted a couple miles down the road to fairhaved. My points of interest this trip were village books (I bought used copies of "out of america" and "her fearful symmetry" after purusing all the shelves for about an hour. I can't help myself. I went next door to the paper store and bought a couple presents for family members. Then I took myself to the colophon cafe for lunch where I sat and watched the passers by outside as they reacted to the statue of a man sitting on a bench- one fellow stuck his gum up his nose.. I then walked to the library to finish a CPR and first aid class online and went back to my scooter passing a group of 3 guys getting on their motorcycles that were parked next to me. O walked ny and said, "nice bikes" they grinned , pleased, said "thanks" and proceeded to look astonished as I walked to the parking space right next to them and proceeded to put on my helmet and put my new purchases in the basket. With a grin and a "have fun" overt shoulder Made my way back home.
There I spent half an hour watching the sun slowly set on my porch as I journaled for about half an hour before taking myself on a 3 mile run Which i once again finished by watching the sun set on my deck. After showering I sat in my overstuffed armchair and finished the book on cd while eating a small dinner and looking at my recently finished paintings. I concluded the evening with the first two hours of a documentary on the kennedy's and was asleep by 1 where I continued to adventure in my dreams.