Seasons Change and So Do I

It doesn’t always end like this. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Sunny skies. Cool, light breeze. Crows cawing. Sparrows singing. The ocean tumbling, tumbling, tumbling despite the Nation’s troubling political cliffhanger. But today, as I leave to return to my Southern California peeps, it is perfect, which makes it doubly hard to leave. 

Often times when I leave Cambria the weather has been gloomy or foggy which is my “sign” it’s time to say goodbye. But today’s perfect conditions are just cruel. 

See, the thing I’ve discovered is there’s never enough time. I know that sounds crazy given I’ve been on the road for more than two months, but it’s true. When you like something, when you love someone, there’s never enough time to saturate, luxuriate, in their being, in their essence. I’ve written about this before, but I am sure this applies to one’s life span; there’s never enough time to enjoy, have fun, play and love freely, fully, with no regard to finger-wagging naysayers and critics.  

This is my goal as I close the book on the Sisterhood of the Traveling Fall Wardrobe Sojourn of 2024: 

Every day I dance.

Every day I sing.

Every day (for the last three) I play the ukelele.

Every day (mostly) I create art.

Every day I write.

Every day and night I drum my drum.

Every day I smile.

Every day I try to be kind to someone. 

Every day I talk to animals. 

Every day I sit outside. 

Every day I go for a walk.

Every day I look at the sky or the stars and say, “Thank you.”

Every day I’m going to get a bit silly. 

I can do these things anywhere, not just when I camp. 

The deal is outside Nature’s chapel, my rituals can look and sound silly to others. Oh well. It’s the new, Behave as if… , me.

As I sit here in the sun, calm, grateful, taking my sweet, absorbing time as I prepare to pack up the bike, camp chair and outdoor rug, I accept the fact that my renewed spirit will be tested. Did anyone hear of L.A. traffic? But I’m going to tap into my tricks of the trade to re-align myself. 

Remember, remember, who you are no matter where you are, the ocean whispers. 

Isn’t it strange how sometimes it feels like you can be yourself when you aren’t with those who think they know you best? Here’s a thought: What if we let each other be our authentic selves no matter what? What about keeping your opinions, your advice, to yourself—unless specifically asked? What about trying to be positive and supportive even if you don’t agree with someone’s decisions or candidate of choice? How about we all try, really hard, to be kind? Especially now. What if we bite our tongue and channel our higher selves? 

Just saying, I’m done being the changer. I’m the changee,.

I need only worry about the changes I need to make in myself. That’s a big enough job to keep me occupied for the rest of my life. 

When you’re a toddler, in elementary and middle school, and throughout adolescence, we go through profound physical and mental growth spurts. Why didn’t anyone tell us that the same can be true in our senior years? It may not look like it from the outside, but man oh man, this getting old rocks.