Embracing Life

Good morning, world.

Today is the last morning, for a month or so, that I will wake up in the safety, simplicity and splendor of my own apartment in Rhode Island with my precious cat, Carla, between the sheets, surrounded by familiar sounds, rhythms, and activities. Tomorrow morning, before dawn, I will cast off from the safe shores of East Greenwich and southern Rhode Island, with my Hyundai Elantra, a Rand-McNally map, a dream as big as the moon, speaker tapes, a few changes of clothes, and the prayers and well-wishes of hundreds (literally!) of friends. I have known some of these friends personally for years, and others I have gotten to know here on the page, and in many ways, those relationships are no less intimate. Oddly, a few of the people I had expected to stand beside, spiritually, on this journey, are conspicuously absent, and that's okay. I release them with deep affection and gratitude for all they have taught me about life, love, and forgiveness.

Today, will be a final day of organizing, packing, checking things off lists, meeting and orientating the women who will care for my apartment and Carla while I'm away. Tonight, I will share one more meal with the gentle man who has encouraged me for the last seven months, and nurtured the birth of this vision, this heartbeat, this passionate pursuit of taking my work on the road. I am blessed, beyond measure, to have this opportunity to go out into the world to share my work, my love, my hope for a better world, a better planet.

A boat is safe on the shore, but that is not what boats are made for.

Love,
Carol