Yesterday I was sitting in a hot spring bath at Esalen, overlooking the ocean where puffs of air danced on the water, those being, I am told, from humpback whales. Today I just finished an evening swim in the clear, freshwaters of Lake Tahoe.
This life is something else, isn't it?
My time at Esalen was profound. When people ask of my experience, I pause to formulate sentences and nothing comes out of my mouth except for a few staggered words that don't make any sense. It's going to take time to digest my Esalen experience.
In the meantime, let me tell you about how I met my amazing friend and host, whose lovely dinning room table I am sitting at while typing this. Christine and I met on Good Friday of this year while hiking on one of my favorite coastal trails of all time, the Kalalau Trail in Kauai (Abel Tasman Track in New Zealand edges out the Kalalau trail, in my mind). I saw this woman ahead of me carrying a bright blue Wal-Mart pail, a bed spread, and the largest backpack I have ever seen on a woman's back. Since I was just out for an extended day hike, I was feeling as light as a feather. I said, "Gurl, give me that pail, what else can I carry, and what are you doing?" Christine was hiking the 11-mile trail to live at its end for several weeks. After miles of hiking together, I discovered that she needed the pail for its dual purpose of sealed storage and a place to sit. I will never judge a woman who carries a pail again.
We exchanged numbers when we departed ways. I didn't expect to see her again, but when I reached out months after our encounter she was en route to Portland in search of a potential community to call home. She stayed a night with me in Portland and after a bit more meandering, found a home in Lake Tahoe. I guess you could call our encounters serendipitous magic, but you might be getting sick of me calling everything magical these days.
This evening I swam on my back pretending I was a humpback whale until my fingers turned white. Is it a coincidence that I visited the two deepest freshwater lakes in the U.S. within weeks of each other and sandwiched between them was a visit to Esalen where we focused on the fifth chakra, whose associated color is blue?
This life is something else, isn't it?
My time at Esalen was profound. When people ask of my experience, I pause to formulate sentences and nothing comes out of my mouth except for a few staggered words that don't make any sense. It's going to take time to digest my Esalen experience.
In the meantime, let me tell you about how I met my amazing friend and host, whose lovely dinning room table I am sitting at while typing this. Christine and I met on Good Friday of this year while hiking on one of my favorite coastal trails of all time, the Kalalau Trail in Kauai (Abel Tasman Track in New Zealand edges out the Kalalau trail, in my mind). I saw this woman ahead of me carrying a bright blue Wal-Mart pail, a bed spread, and the largest backpack I have ever seen on a woman's back. Since I was just out for an extended day hike, I was feeling as light as a feather. I said, "Gurl, give me that pail, what else can I carry, and what are you doing?" Christine was hiking the 11-mile trail to live at its end for several weeks. After miles of hiking together, I discovered that she needed the pail for its dual purpose of sealed storage and a place to sit. I will never judge a woman who carries a pail again.
We exchanged numbers when we departed ways. I didn't expect to see her again, but when I reached out months after our encounter she was en route to Portland in search of a potential community to call home. She stayed a night with me in Portland and after a bit more meandering, found a home in Lake Tahoe. I guess you could call our encounters serendipitous magic, but you might be getting sick of me calling everything magical these days.
This evening I swam on my back pretending I was a humpback whale until my fingers turned white. Is it a coincidence that I visited the two deepest freshwater lakes in the U.S. within weeks of each other and sandwiched between them was a visit to Esalen where we focused on the fifth chakra, whose associated color is blue?
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