I hope this finds you well, remembering the truth of who you are, and keeping your heart wide open to Life.
~ The Weekly Word ~
"Thoughts on Leaving"
How are you? I'm thinking about "leaving" tonight. I am packing to leave my beloved Chacala, this little beach village in Mexico where I enjoy my winters. I am leaving. Most of the people I know and relate to are leaving, too, or have already headed back north.
Leaving. We arrive, we stay, we go. I came here in November, and I stayed, and now I'm leaving. Now I get to return to my other paradise, in Santa Rosa, northern California.
My mother is 95. She arrived in life a long time ago, and yesterday she went to the hospital in southern California diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Her heart isn't really failing, it's just tired! She has done a lot. Baked a lot of cookies. Hosted lots of church socials. Raised two fine sons. Wife and mother. She arrived, she stayed, and I don't think she is leaving just yet. My brother is with her, and I'll be there soon.
Her emergency reminds me once again how fragile life is. Her life, my life, your life. Not all of us will get to 95. Our bodies are strong and loyal. We can abuse them, reject them, mistreat them-- and yet they keep showing up to get us through the day. I assume the better we treat our bodies the longer they will serve us. I'm a big fan of healthy eating, exercise, all that stuff. Then we get hit by a bus.
Someday, we will all be leaving. And we will leave the way we lived. If your life is lived afraid about losing stuff, then you will probably die afraid. If you live your life knowing that none of the stuff is really yours, that it's all on loan for a short time (including your life itself)...if you can surrender the illusion you control any of it (bus)....if you live in peace with the changes of life....then perhaps you can leave this world in peace, also.
That's my goal: To live my life like I'm dying. To live full out, wide awake, present in my body, IN love and celebration and gratitude ....trusting that it's all perfect, trusting Life itself to do whatever it's going to do. Everyone I've worked with who was diagnosed with death has celebrated life. Okay, then, I'm diagnosing you: You are leaving! Like they say, there's no way to get out of this life alive.
And you can't take it with you. I'm sure it's true. All the stuff belongs to this earthly realm. I'm packing to leave Chacala. I have no expectation I can pack to leave Life. I am sad to leave Chacala, and I am leaving gracefully-- no resistance, no "not fair." It's just time to leave.
My mother is not quite leaving yet. It is getting to be time. I'll see her soon. I send my love to your mother, and all the mothers you are, have been, and will be. The Great Eternal Mother is always with us.
I've been thinking about leaving. I think a lot about Living! Let's LIVE! Every single minute. There is nothing to hold us back but our own silly old agreements. Throw them off like a fur coat on a hot day! Get naked, get crazy, and LIVE!!
··············
In the meantime, we're booking lots of appearances for me when I get home. Santa Rosa, Cotati, Reno, Sacramento, online, the radio. Full moon dreamtime mitotes. Church talks. A weekly Conscious Relationship Circle in Sebastopol, CA. Teotihuacan, the Toltec pyramids, September: "Dancing at the Edge of the Dream." Wow!
Check the Joydancer events calendar and this newsletter for details.
Allan
