I don’t even know where I am. I’ve spent so much time meeting people, and cats, that I haven’t noticed what’s around me. Yes, there are three cats that come and go, I bought food and a litter box, and I have three cats that come and go now. Traveling so much needed more decompression than I’ve needed before, but new experiences are all we have. When things were settled I figured I needed to take some time, wake up, and see where the day takes me. Coffee, feed the cats, get dressed and notice where I am, with you.
The first thing to steal your breath is when you step out my front door. The area is expansive without much to interrupt your view. You can see that place in the distance where the sky and earth melt together. I’m facing north east so, depending on the time of day, the sky will be there with unlimited and unforgettable faces. Georgia had the most breathtaking sun rises and sunsets I had ever seen until I reached a place that, I’m not saying is heaven, but it sure ain’t Iowa.
A gate, at the end of a dead end street, with a Wildlife Reserve sign posted on it, makes you think you missed a turn. It’s private property that’s hidden enough to stay private. Everything is so well loved and preserved you can feel it emitting from the ground, through your feet, vibrating into you. The seven acre property has a few projects underway and the tools are available to use. Plants, soil, tools, and projects are enough to keep me busy for a while. Fresh sage and thyme grow next to the porch leading off the front door and a tree with something that looks like a green orange. The palm trees are taller than I’ve ever seen and the bamboo lining the creek is so thick you can bounce on it. The sounds of the blackberry bushes rustling in the breeze, foxes playing in the brush, and the jazz oozing softly from the speakers aren’t sounds I’m used to hearing daily, but they’re so comfortable I sleep like a baby here.
There’s palmfrans draped across the opening of a trail that has clear signs of memories and I know that’s my way to go. As I moved them aside and stepped on the trail you can almost hear the laughter of kids pushing past the giant leaves as they chased each other down that well beaten path. The excitement of their day was tangible and it radiated from them as they rushed past me. Nature had taken some of that trail back, but it refused to die and laid a clear direction for me to follow. It led to an opening that looked like it once knew that laughter, but had grown in from years of adults putting away childish things and it begged me to stand where they would play. So I did.
Down the creek a bit is where the neighbor’s dock stands firm after decades of use. She’s the real reason I’m taking this walk. She’s 84yrs old and nobody has been able to put me in my place this fast since my mom’s mom, Meme Bressi. She is full of life and passion and wanted me to see and know her family’s dock, so I was expecting it, but could never have been ready for it. The double kitchen sink sits at the end of worn planks that have been repaired so many times that repairs are no longer needed. The boards to your right won’t hold you so don’t step on them even though the view will make you want to try. The end of the dock sits out in the middle of the creek and the wind blows differently out here. It smells different too. Sweeter, more crisp, with a slight chill from a couple of degrees difference from the land.
It’s hard to explain if you don’t feel it when you listen and breathe. It brings an inner calm and stillness that amplifies life. Where I am is exactly where I am supposed to be and I have never felt that this way, this honestly before. I’m not sure how to explain it, but it feels like it was here waiting for me. My level of willingness to follow determines my level of serenity. I continue to meditate, seek humility, and be understanding. It is a daily back and forth in my head, but I try and try to think of the other person first. This place helps foster that to a new level for me. It brings me to a place of understanding in myself that I can not imagine being without. There is guidance and understanding without injections of desires, ideas, and plans. This journey has gifted me an abundance of opportunity and I aim to foster each one quietly and with patience. It was suggested once that I should pause then pause again. This place is where the pause hums quietly without interruption and quiet thought is the only kind allowed.
