Monday, March 22, 2010

New Roads to Travel

“Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be...
Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you've never lived before.”
Erich Fromm, Philosopher



The incredible destination of any journey is not the place we come to, but the road we have traveled to get there. This concept has been written about, in many ways, by many different people, and yet whenever I see it somewhere or hear it spoken, it never ceases to amaze or to move me. And I found myself contemplating these words over and over as the miles passed underneath my car and the landscape of the West unfolded before my searching eyes.

When someone leaves to go on their next journey, the unknown one, the one spoken of in whispers and referred to more often than not as a "passing", they leave an empty place, an echo of themselves and a scent of someone missing. I do not know where they go. I only know that as I traveled the physical miles on my own road home I set out to discover some remote territory in my mind and in my soul.
I thought: "Why, I can be quite an exotic mystery even to myself." And I had to smile at that and wonder aloud...."Who am I? What words do I use to define myself?"

Woman. Artist. Wife. Daughter. Lover. Giver. Taker. Writer. Reader. Gardener. etc, etc, etc....
All nouns.
All cubbyholes.
Where are the glorious adjectives I use freely everywhere else, describing objects, scenery, other people?
I use the words "Awesome" and "Beautiful" and "Wondrous" often but I have never used them to define myself. And yet, why not? Am I not these adjectives personified on this planet? Aren't we all? Don't we all move through immeasurable and difficult periods in our lifetimes, do what is necessary to survive and come out the other side, still breathing, and with a larger understanding and appreciation of who we are? And if we don't, why not? I started to venture forth and look into the possibilities of defining myself with expansive and striking adjectives and I froze. I stopped as if on glacial ice because this self praise and seeming limitless celebration of ego was not only vast new territory but it had brought me to a place of fear.

And then I remembered. It came to me on the lightest of whispers, a sigh of my Father's voice: "Don't ever forget that you know no bounds except those you place on yourself. You are beautiful, talented and full of love. Just remember that sweetheart."

Aren't we all, in those unsung places of our souls, huge people overflowing with fearless and breathtaking passions, needs and an incredible desire to give, love and be loved? Traveling far and wide, sometimes through endless green fields covered in brightly colored flowers and other times on dark, desolate highways, aren't we all in search of something familiar, positive connections, people like ourselves? I think we are, and that this searching journey is how our spirit soars. This is how we move freely through the strange new world of who we are: by recognizing our strengths, our beauty and our endless capacity for love and being with others who see it as well. This is how the person who has passed and who now travels in mystery lives in us. And this is how we love, carry and live with them.

We are all on a fabulous new road, an uncharted, strange and astonishing new journey through the territory of ourselves.....and aren't we all wonderful?


My love to you all...
Kristin

9 comments:

  1. Oh Kristin! Yet again you've found exactly the right words to express your wise and passionate and loving self! And again you've given US a reason to rejoice in the wonder of life, and in the wonderful, growing and giving community WE share here, a reason to cherish and anticipate each Monday!

    Bless you and thank you, our well-named Kristin {{{{{{LOVE}}}}}}

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  2. What incredible insight, Kristin! I got chills reading this. You're so right.. about placing ourselves in cubbyholes, and not describing ourselves as glorious adjectives that we only hope and strive to be. Here's to changing that frame of mind! Thanks for sharing these beautiful and resounding words with us. You're such an inspiration especially coming out of a rough time in your life. *love and hugs* to you, our fearless EPE leader! :)

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  3. Kristin, these are such moving words and they brought me to tears. I agree...we all are wonderful and beautiful. I am so blessed to know you and all of the incredible people who make up this team.

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  4. So beautifully written and so meaningful to me at this point in my life. Thank you for having the courage and trust to share so openly with us! Best to you and next time you are in AZ - call me!

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  5. Kristin, your spiritual insights are as deep as your light is bright and you share them freely with pure love. Your words bring soothing comfort to others who are in pain even as you are hurting yourself. You are indeed a human Angel and we are all blessed to know such a shining beacon of love and light in our world!! Thank you for being YOU, in all your FANTABULOUS GLORY!

    I'm so sorry for your loss and I hope that through the efforts TeamEPE, we can help find a cure so that others won't have to suffer more losses to cancer. Thank you so much for your hard work and efforts to birth this Team and keep it going!!

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  6. So insightful and reflective... words that can only come as we search for meaning and hope and reason in the stages of our lives and of those we love. It's funny to me how others can see us in adjectival form... inspirational, kind, good, tender, giving... but we often only see ourselves as those nouns... caregiver, mother, wife. I think we look at ourselves as do-ers, because that's what we mostly are in our day to day activities, rather than as be-ers... free, soaring, amazing. I believe we were created to BE and to DO, and too many times we forget to just BE... our lives move to quickly, and we get involved in DOing this errand and that chore and flitting here and there. But that pure, sweet essence of just BEing is what leads us to understand ourselves in a different perspective. So here's to stopping, reflecting, and BEing, and seeings ourselves as the wonderful, marvelous, light-bearing BEings that we are! Thanks so very much, Kristin, for your Monday posts!

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  7. Kristin, you need to write a book or something. You have just ENDLESS talent - especially in the written word. Your Dad raised a wonderful daughter.... what an accomplishment, Kudos to him!! Thanks for sharing :D laura xxoo

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  8. A beautifully written tribute Kristin, both to your Dad and to the buoyancy and resilience of the boundless human spirit!

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  9. Very moving. well written and insightful. I love the observation that we don't apply adjectives to ourselves; that we're comfortable with the nouns about ourselves, but not the adjectives. I plan to work on being comfortable in my adjectives. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You are truly an amazing human and I'm so thankful to have you in my life. love and hugs

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