Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Adventure Awaits

I was chatting with a new soon to be friend today and was sharing with her about my little retreat last summer. I began to reminisce...

I was thinking of what it was like to go away and be completely alone at a bed and breakfast with myself for two days and two nights.

*closes eyes*

*takes a breath*

It was amazing.

For the first time doing something new was not scary. I was not bored without television or the internet, in fact it was fabulous.

I loved being secluded in my room apart from pretty much everything. Swimming in a sea of bed coverings, enjoying the beautiful red roses I took with me from my graduation the day before (yes I put 12 individual water thingies on the ends and took them too!).

I read. I watched movies. I walked. I admired nature. I listened to music. And God. I found out that I was already a mother within.

It was magical really.

I have to say that I was sorta wishin' I could go back to what seemed like an incredible place.

Wow. Memories are amazing.

You know what is frustrating? We live for these experiences. We wait through the troubles of life all year for a couple of days of reflection and relaxation.

We trudge through the mud of the 'every day' often unhappy and discontented so that for a bundle of hours we can breathe without fears of being interrupted, of needing an inhaler, or of being knocked off of our feet by someone we come across.

It saddens me when we live like this because we really only get one life on this earth. And though this earth isn't really the climax of our on going lives it is a gift full of sensations to experience. Why so often do we settle for less?

I'm guessing it's because of the unknown, because of the fear that grips us, because of the comfort we want to feel.

I think of selling our house for us to go back to school and how scary it looked but also how exciting it felt. We were on an adventure. We honestly didn't know what was at the end of it for us. To be honest .... we still don't. I love this.

What I don't love is falling into ordinary life in a way that seems to cloud my vigor for the world I've been given to live in.

I want always to keep my senses alive to the possibilities around me. I am so blessed to have 'livers' (not the organs) all around me. People who step out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary.

I have a friend Glo, she just recently decided to not go back to school in the fall to do her Masters but rather go to Holland for a year to be a nanny. She's so excited!!!

Someone else I look up to is my friend Chi Chi. She graduated from the same program as myself over 8 years ago and after pouring her heart and soul into her work (and being the best support worker I know) have decided to return to school full time this fall to pursue horticulture - her true passion.

I also have another admirable friend who has lived in Taiwan teaching English as a second language for the past couple of years and plans to return to Canada to study law a newly discovered love.

There's also my priest friend that sort of got thrown (gently) out of the country he was serving the poor (in money) and is now spending a year going where ever the Spirit leads while his paper work is figured out. What an adventure!

Though my life doesn't burst with the appearance of excitement I do look at it as such. I will get to have a brief and undoubtedly life changing visit to a country my heart melted over the second I saw pictures of it. This is small but wonderful for me.

Hmmmmmmmm....

Perhaps I ought to consider ways I can add more excitement to my life (a smile is developing). Something that I will remember and be changed by like my original 40 Day adventure.

I am so flawed. So imperfect. So ordinary.

But, I am me and the only one there is.

I shall find adventure in whatever way I can. For I believe, it is out there waiting for us

;)

I'm a Twit

I clearly don't have enough to do in my life.

I just started a Twitter account.

I know crazy eh?

I think I'm at the epitome of my narcissism. I'm at peace with it though.

I opened it as Eva, Queenoftowels. It makes me laugh a little.

I think it may be in efforts to get my blog out there. I'm not so sure as to why since I'd made it slightly anonymous. (Well, very slightly).

Part of me really wants to get rid of the veil and just write everything from my heart and not be ashamed or worried about the possible outcomes that may arise. But, I've been reminded by those from many different areas of my life that having my thoughts for the world to read may not be a great idea as I cannot control how they perceive what I write and can easily take things out of context.

Oh well.

I went to a little writing seminar on Saturday teaching how to write the story of your life or those of others. The entire topic is of great interest to be as that's pretty much all I blog about. My experiences and the experiences I share with others and sometimes their own experiences.

I love doing this.

I learned a few key tricks and pointers on how I should be writing and that I am doing many things 'right' already. This made me very happy to hear.

I learned that I often write personal essays (a short story with a greater amount of time dedicated to reflection on the story).

I learned that I should be funny, likable, not bitter (ha ha) and that I should break the rules of grammar when appropriate. (Funny, no mention of breaking the rules when it's not appropriate, I'm good at that!).

I would love to write a book or two someday. To take the posts that I've already written and somehow thread them together into a book. There are also people's stories I'd like to hear more about and be able to share with others who may not normally get to hear them.

Writing excites me. Being heard excites me. That's probably why I like posting facebook status' and now Twitterness.

Actually, Wally told me to tweet. He thought I should get a phone with internet access and tweet all day long. He thinks it'd be entertaining. I have no doubt.

I'm not getting a phone with internet access unless someone buys it for me and pays the monthly bill. In that case I would do it.

I was told Saturday that when I write I should write. Period. With no worries in mind about who's reading or how things may come out to offend. I'm guessing the best work is from within.

I was also told that you should put aside a certain amount of time everyday to write, because that's how books are written.

This got me thinking....

Often I write when I have something on my mind. I wait until the 'spirit' hits me.

I wonder what would come out if I determined to always write. Everyday.

I may try it. I think it could be interesting. And not. But, that's ok.

Sometimes I get frustrated because there's so much in my head waiting to be written I feel like I just might not make it to the computer in time. It's like mental diarrhea ( holy crap I spelled that right the first time!!).

Yesterday I didn't make it to a computer in time and I lost it all. I was so sad. I'm sure it was good. Ok so maybe it wasn't really any good but it would've felt great to get it off my mind ... whatever it was.

So maybe I will try and write everyday. Maybe it'd be fun. I'm not sure how much time I should carve out. The dude that was tell us to do this wrote for 2 hrs a day. Yeah, trust me, you don't want me to do that. Maybe I'll start with a half hour and then on days that I have more time an hour. We'll see.

If you're a twit find me on twitter: queenoftowels

We'll see how this goes....