This post will go up late but that's fine. Lughnasadh was brilliant in every way. In memory it inspires many happy smiles.
There is so much depth to this date for me. It's the date my most recent border collie was born. She was so dear.
This is the date a dear one lost her father unexpectedly a couple of years ago. [[ hugs and sighs ]]
This is the year that Lughnasadh showed her sweetest face to me. I played all day.
I had meet ups with four dear ones and a short time with a fifth. So many different types of love, acceptance, joy, sangha.
I went off my grain free and low starch eating and indulged in pizza at dinner, fries at lunch and enjoyed a spponful of maple syrup on a buckwheat pancake in the morning! Holiday foods. I tasted a crumb of chocolate cake and made my "ick sugar" face to laughter.
To quote one friend "Life is magnificent".
I was the celebration all day long. Deep gratitude and welcome to August. I'm glad you are here. xo
Sometimes I have to pinch myself, I can't believe I am so lucky. I have a dear, dear friend and this is the anniversary of the day we met. [this does not mean I don't appreciate all my other wonderful friends of course!]
I am going to guess that we all have pivotal people in our lives. The kind of people who had/have a profound effect on us. She is one of those people for me. Still. I truly don't know who I would be without her. I do know that before I met her I felt her absence in my life. I longed for my friend.
True we sometimes [still!] after all these years misunderstand each other, thank goodness we can laugh about it now. Apparently we are both human and all. But the benefit of having the 'superest' of Virgos in your life cannot be underestimated. Like health, you cannot buy friendship in a store, it is a gift. Sometimes, if you are lucky. During a week where people are getting laid off right and left at my company it is good to know this--I am truly fortunate in friends.
This year I am in snowy MN with my friend and we can celebrate it together. I can toast her in person and with my hand over my heart as I bow, I turn my face towards her in gladness, in gratitude.
I hope everyone can find something to celebrate this Wednesday.
Thought rambling warning!
This year festival sparked a lot of musing about community for me. Then, as I mentioned earlier, I am reading the Lonely American, which is about feeling disconnected, why and what to do about it. My vacation and my reading are mixing in my brain and generating lots of hmmms.
Festival is a very large, [for us in this country used to small groups], short term, incredibly diverse community. It is self policing. It has community goals. It's diverseness makes it very broad in scope I think, it can be many different things to many people.
The book is a fascinating read about how our biological [almost cellular] bent toward community is in constant conflict with our almost subconscious ideals of independence and self reliance. It also details how just the perception of being 'left out' make stunning changes to both our thoughts and our behaviors.
I think of myself as being fairly relationally oriented. I do give attention to and work on my relationships. However I am lousy at staying in contact with my family, who I moved away from when I was only 20. I have several solitary activities that I enjoy very much. Once again I am surprising myself. How well do I actually know this person that I have lived with all my life? How good am I at compromising with those I dislike? Do I feel disconnected sometimes and do I then withdraw to avoid feeling the discomfort? Do I act without thinking sometimes if I feel left out? And then the kicker for me...what stories do I tell myself about my connection or lack thereof.
I don't really have a lot of conclusions yet... but I see in me the person who shrinks or lashes out from simply perceived feelings of being ignored, even though I remind myself everyday to not take things personally. We are all the centers of our own universes. And I know rationally just how busy everyone else is...we are all juggling too much. [and not getting enough vacations]
It so pervasive in our culture, it's a bit freakish to me. I need to absorb this new information and see what pops out. Go hug someone eh? Even if it's just a beautiful tree.
Happy Spring all! It's the vernal equinox. We have had fabulous weather here in Austin. Warm and sunny, today we are getting rains to coax even more flowers into bloom.Wednesday and Thursday were great days. We met a lot of fabulous women and got to hang out with a few. On Thursday we took a little trip into the hill country. I loved all of the stone buildings everywhere [stone is my favorite] and toured the river road along Guadalupe river. This was truly gorgeous, it's still too cool for tubing so it was fairly empty. The water was this incredible shade of turquoise like the pacific around La Jolla. I have never seen a river that colour and with the trees all leafing out and blooming it was truly spectacular.I feel so fortunate in the people I have met, the beauty I see and having those to love. Happy Spring all!
It was a beautiful sunny day in CA. Much holiday baking was done. Not much writing has been done yet today but I have to say happy anniversary to a dear, dear friend.My chief bridal ninja, my spiritual twin and someone who actually remembers me from my teens. A exceptional musician, a talented artist and a mistress of all things Virgo. I can't even imagine what my life would be like without her presence. Sometimes when I look at the love in my life I can't comprehend I how got this lucky. I am truly grateful for all of it.And today I lift a freshly baked cookie to her in snowy MN with love. Here's to our next tattoo.
