It's nice to be here in the crisp, cold air. It feels like it's clearing my brain a little.
I had a great weekend with Taylor, Julian and Dylan. We went to the Dinosaur Museum and Julian had so much fun. He was pretty upset when it was time to go. He is so cute and so curious about everything. He goes at lightening speed from one thing to the next and it's a challenge to keep up. The three of us cooked a lot together, watched movies and played with Julian. It was pretty cold outside so it prevented us from doing some things.
Today it was gorgeous and clear so I took a nice drive up to Sundance and had a delicious lunch. I have a friend who works there and it was good to see him again. I sat outside where they have a fire going at the base of the ski lift and had a nice conversation with a man and his son about India and the state of our world. It was really interesting. Now I am at the business center doing some work that I need to catch up on. I'm writing up some proposals for some of the projects I worked on in India. I hope to help them raise some much needed money.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Everything is going great in Utah. I have loved spending time with Julian and getting to know him again. We defintely have a deep bond that won't be forgotten no matter how much time passes. He knows me and I know him on a soul level.
I have gone to a couple of challenging yoga classes and went to a booksigning of a friend who wrote a book on raw food and green smoothies. It got me very pumped to get myself and my body back in better shape and nurture it after the beating it's taken the last several months. I went right out and bought lots of leafy greens and have been experimenting. The drinks are actually quite tasty and SO good for you.
Since I got back I have been filling myself with all the things I've missed: hamburgers, chocolate, cheese, wine. I need to find a good balance and get some good nutritional stuff in ther too. I feel like I'm headed in a good direction.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
I arrived in Utah last Friday after a very pleasant 2 day drive through s. Cal and las Vegas. My friend Jennie sue joined me and we laughed and talked all the way. It's so great to be here and I feel like I can finally fully relax. Seeing Taylor and Julian has been the highlight so far. He has gotten so big since I last saw him. He's so funny ans loves to run and play. And so do I! Utah is cold and beautiful. It's a nice change of pace. I can just chill here for a while and figure out my next steps. Right now I have no idea where they will lead me.......
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Bread & Roses
I have been volunteering for Bread & Roses for many years and it is a huge joy in my life. I was a volunteer host for a show this week, which means I go with the musicians, make sure they have what they need, introduce them and talk about the mission of Bread 7 Roses. After each show I write a show report and a story about the performance. Here's my latest one. It made me so happy to be there.
Marin Services for Women is a wonderful healing center for women recovering drug and alcohol dependency. We met together in their "living room", a wonderful room with several comfortable, overstuffed couches and chairs. There were about 25 women who filed in after having an evening meeting. There were 3 women who had just arrived that day and were probably feeling a little nervous and scared about what the coming days would bring.
Norm Weintraub is a generous man. He is generous with his songwriting skills, his singing voice, his guitar playing and certainly with his feelings. He is very open and talks a lot about the people in his life and the reasons he writes the songs that he does. He tells us that most of his songs come to him through dreams. And he is a very attentive listener.
Norm sang several of his own songs that told wonderful stories of the relationships he has with the people in his life, his wife, his father, memories of childhood. He also sang some great songs from the past that everyone could sing along to , like "People Get Ready", "My Girl", and "Summer Breeze". Everyone in the room sang along, clapped their hands and had huge smiles on their faces. Listening to Norm sing was a very healing experience for everyone. They were so appreciative of his music and for him coming to spend an hour with them. We stayed in the room as each of the women said what they are grateful for before they all retired for the day. Norm and I shared with them the things we are grateful for and then we all joined hands and recited the Serenity Prayer. It was a very beautiful evening and I was grateful to be a part of it.
Marin Services for Women is a wonderful healing center for women recovering drug and alcohol dependency. We met together in their "living room", a wonderful room with several comfortable, overstuffed couches and chairs. There were about 25 women who filed in after having an evening meeting. There were 3 women who had just arrived that day and were probably feeling a little nervous and scared about what the coming days would bring.
Norm Weintraub is a generous man. He is generous with his songwriting skills, his singing voice, his guitar playing and certainly with his feelings. He is very open and talks a lot about the people in his life and the reasons he writes the songs that he does. He tells us that most of his songs come to him through dreams. And he is a very attentive listener.
Norm sang several of his own songs that told wonderful stories of the relationships he has with the people in his life, his wife, his father, memories of childhood. He also sang some great songs from the past that everyone could sing along to , like "People Get Ready", "My Girl", and "Summer Breeze". Everyone in the room sang along, clapped their hands and had huge smiles on their faces. Listening to Norm sing was a very healing experience for everyone. They were so appreciative of his music and for him coming to spend an hour with them. We stayed in the room as each of the women said what they are grateful for before they all retired for the day. Norm and I shared with them the things we are grateful for and then we all joined hands and recited the Serenity Prayer. It was a very beautiful evening and I was grateful to be a part of it.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Being back
I have been going through so many strange sensations since being back. I love and appreciate all that my life is here. I love having good clean food, a warm bed and warm water. I have been going overboard on my meat consumption and loving every delectable bite.
But at the same time I have been feeling very sad and a little depressed. I think part of it is that it has been grey and rainy here in the Bay area almost every day since I returned. But also I feel my experience slipping away from me like a dream and that makes me sad. I talk about it and write about it and relate stories, but no one can really understand and feel the things I felt on my journey. I have hundreds of photos that tell my story, but no one wants to look at them all, and I don't blame them one bit. They weren't there so it doesn't mean to them what it means to me. I feel like I need a "Travelers returning from India Support Group" TRFI Anonymous. I wonder if there is such a thing....
But at the same time I have been feeling very sad and a little depressed. I think part of it is that it has been grey and rainy here in the Bay area almost every day since I returned. But also I feel my experience slipping away from me like a dream and that makes me sad. I talk about it and write about it and relate stories, but no one can really understand and feel the things I felt on my journey. I have hundreds of photos that tell my story, but no one wants to look at them all, and I don't blame them one bit. They weren't there so it doesn't mean to them what it means to me. I feel like I need a "Travelers returning from India Support Group" TRFI Anonymous. I wonder if there is such a thing....
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