Change of Scenery

A few weeks ago, K. and I escaped to the beach...

We went to Rockaway Beach, a funny little place on the Northern Oregon Coast.  I have gone there for years at different times.  My family used to rent a condo there in the Winter when I was home from college for Christmas break.  We would ring in the New Year watching storms and burning presto logs.

The Oregon Coast is one of my favorite places to be and to go.  K. and I were headed there this particular weekend to brainstorm.  We are developing a new direction in our work together, or an extension of the direction we have.  

This new movement has begun with a simple talk we gave last week about the work we do together, that's part of what we were planning. And especially about what K. has to offer in terms of ideas, perspective, and solutions in dealing with emotional and mental struggles from a Chinese Medicine perspective.  

We gave the talk to a small group of therapists that I know, and it went really well.  I wasn't surprised that everyone there was very very interested in what K. had to say, because it is beautiful stuff.  And because he is an amazing doctor and human being.

K. and I spend a lot of time together.  A lot.  And we talk quite a bit about many things.  But to create this new thing we needed to get away.  Away from familiar scenes, away from dishes; we needed a new view.  And we found it at a sweet old family cabin in Rockaway.

We spent the weekend talking and making food, walking on the beach and watching the rain come down sideways.  And we headed for home on Sunday feeling refreshed and excited about this new direction, this new sharing.  It feels like it is time.

Space to Roam

Going away for the holiday is something unique for me, for us.  I have to admit that I did not know what to expect, from myself or from the holiday before me.  What happened was quite lovely.  Relaxation, open blue skies, time to not be a in a hurry.

I have to thank my lovely sister-in-law, Kristin, for this gift. She planned our time with them so well that I did not need to think or worry or concern myself with tomorrow. Thank you, Kristin, for our wonderful vacation!

Being away, being someplace new, allowed for space to see and feel, listen and be awake to myself in ways I haven't been able to for a while. There was snow and blue sky and warm, warm sun...

San Diego

So, you live in Portland and you're going to San Diego in November.  You're thinking, "This'll be great! Sun right before it really gets dark."  And you're right, some of the time.  My sister said that the weekend we just had in San Diego is about as cold as it gets, and it was downright chilly at times.  Gas wall heaters were being figured out and turned on, and a late party turned into a cuddle under the afghan.  But, it was still lovely...

San Diego is so different than Portland in more ways that you can count.  But they do have similarities.  When Portlanders think of San Diego, they see a big yellow sun and think, "Mmm... that would be nice."  And San Diegans (at least the ones I know), seem to have the same thought, but where we think of sun, they think of culture.  So we're sister cities, cities that long for a missing piece, and see it in the other.

We had so much fun.  We played, of course (see previous post!).  We went to a fancy celebration at this fancy place.  We walked and talked and ate brunch and drank tea and lounged around.  To me, this is the very best kind of visit: simple, sweet, satisfying.  A very good friend of mine, who I get to see very soon, said once that her favorite part of visiting with friends is sitting around in the morning, talking and drinking coffee.  I agree.  Especially when those friends are your sister and beloved brother-in-law.  I felt lucky all weekend long.

K. and I also got a chance to go the famous San Diego Zoo.  Zoo's bring out mixed feelings in both of us.  We see animals living a life that is not their own, but they bring us the gift of connection, even as most of us live in cities and seem to want to work very hard to hurt our shared planet.  It is not an easy thing to stomach, but we had a really lovely morning nonetheless.  So much beauty.  One of our favorite things was seeing all the Koalas, but I didn't get any good pictures of them.  We did, however, ride the  "Skyfari."  Highly recommended.

We ended the weekend on the patio of an old-school golf club overlooking the city. It was an apt ending to a spectacular time of renewed connection and fun.  I love visiting a different place, it always inspires me.  San Diego is a great place to visit and get to know, and enjoy.

I can't wait for our next visit.

Beautiful Things (2)

Well, it's Friday afternoon and I am about to head home from the office. K is getting a haircut and I am tidying up and getting ready to put another week away. I leave today feeling truly satisfied with my work this week.  And, something quite interesting happened to me just the other day, something unexpected...:

I felt so good about a session I had with a client that I did a fist pump in my office after they left!  That, for me, is a first.

Indeed, I really haven't done many fist pumps in my time; it's not common.  I think that the last time I did a such an inspired fist pump was when Once, a wee independent Irish film, had just won the Oscar for best song. (K. was very entertained by the sight of me leaping off the couch and shouting "yes!") See it if you haven't already.  Which reminds me... I wanted to share a beautiful thing with you today, a wedding website from Ireland with gorgeous, lush, photography and quite a sweetness.

Style Serendipity

The photo makes me want to take my sweets and row in a boat to a island off the coast of the emerald isle, wear a big sweater, cozy into a rustic cabin with some tea and a biscuit (and butter), find a local pub, wile the night away surrounded by the sound of fiddles and brogue.  I have a soft spot for Ireland.  Some of my people came from there a long time ago, and there is just something about the place itself, mystical, magical, filled with sadness and redemption, green.  If you like movies, another great Irish one is The Secret of Roan Inish.

But for now it is time to cozy-in in my home, in one of the emerald isle's of the U.S.; time to enjoy the weekend, get a few things done, cook, play.

May you have a serendipitous weekend, filled with inspiration, adventure, and hopefully more than a little bit of mother nature, whatever that is for you.


{Photo from its site of origin, Style Serendipity}

New Look for In This World

If you have visited my blog before, you may have noticed that today it has a new look, especially at the top. If you've visited it multiple times over the past 4 years, you may have noticed new looks here and there, but I hope you'll find this one to be a little more special.

The photo (yes, that's me) was taken two years ago when K. and I were on a weekend trip to Eastern Oregon. After an extremely wet and rainy Spring, we decided to head east in an effort to find sun and some blue sky.

Though we were not entirely successful at evading the rain (especially at our campsite), we had a great weekend in what turned to be out a very unique season. The very wet Spring we were trying to escape had turned Eastern Oregon into a lush paradise. Wildflowers and grasses were in rare form, and we later heard that longtime residents were discovering blooms that they had never seen before. In our hikes around the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument (several different sites in the area), we experienced gorgeous skies, unique and precious flowers and birdsong, and a true feeling for a region we had only ever before driven through, not to.

I chose the photo you see in the header because it captures the feeling I most hope to convey, and inspire you to find, as you read In This World: the wonder and freedom that come with new vistas and unexpected glories.

I'd love to know your impressions of the new look if you have a moment! Thanks, as always, for reading, and I hope you are having a lovely, golden, Fall.

What we share

I noticed today that I follow and read a lot of blogs written by people who do not live where they were born; I am fascinated by the ex-pat, it would seem. One of my very favorites is written by a French woman who lives in the United States. And though I have a feeling that her blog would be just as beautiful if she were living in her native France, I wonder if she would have ever come to write it.

It seems to me that blogs often serve as a kind of travel log, and for many they have turned life into a journey, or allowed it to redeem itself back into one. I do love a good food blog, but the ones I enjoy most involve narrative, discovery, and the delight--on the part of the writer--of finding something new.

Longing to get away, be away, run away, is a symptom of burnout, or the result of it, or both. When we feel down, stuck, or aren't feeling at all, our minds (very naturally) turn to wondering what is the trouble.

Do I need to find a new job? I really, do, actually, dislike my house/city/car/partner. Something needs to change! But what is it? If I could only figure it out...

This effort to "figure out" what's wrong is the hallmark of being stuck in our minds. When we are trying to use the very thing that has us stuck to figure out how to get unstuck, we are truly in the labyrinth. And not the good kind.

Rather than trying to figure something out, writing about life, whether in a blog, letter, or journal entry, can be very therapeutic. It brings to life perspective, helps us see what is happening from a different vantage point, and encourages us to highlight the positive. Which is what therapists try to get their clients to do every day!

The bloggers I really enjoy write about the celebrations of life, post pictures of what they're most proud of, focus on what feels good and true in their life. I have to remember as I read them, though, that these folks are just folks, and that what I am seeing is not them, but the things about their life and self that they love most. It is so easy to get caught up in making someone you admire a super-human when they are not. No one is!

So the next time you are reading a blog and perhaps simultaneously enjoying it and muttering under your breath about how 'of course it's great to live in beautiful french village' remember that a blog is not a whole person, it is what they are choosing to share. And chances are, it is a way in which they are enriching and dealing with their own life. Which is a human life, full of folly and foibles, pain, disappointment, and the days where things just don't go right. Just like the rest of us!