i left Ashland OR at about 6:45am on monday morning and arrived in Sedona AZ somewhere after 2am on tuesday morning. When i got on I-5 in Oregon i felt so happy; i was rested and centered. i really understood more fully how important it is to do our best to act on our deepest guidance and intuition (even when it comes in the form of a missing wallet). This goes hand in hand with following our own innate and personal joy. As i flew past sign after sign that said "expect delays on Sunday." i thanked God i was traveling on Monday. my little Honda, named Alma, (which means 'Good' in Gaelic and 'Soul' in Latin) also greatly enjoyed doing what she loves to do best - Go Fast.
When i left in the morning, the light was silver and the sky lavender. As i moved south, low clouds crept down the california foothills near the immense Mt Shasta. And as i moved further south, i became part of the rushing river of metal that is 70mph noon traffic in Sacramento. I passed truck after truck laden with tomatoes, passed olive groves, orchards of all kinds, and many signs, which read:
"Where water flows, food grows."
The trip changed as i moved east on 58 through smoggy Bakersfield, in the late afternoon and then into the Mojave desert. In that vast and surreal place - a land with leaping, twisting joshua trees, i stopped at a rest area and stretched in the gusty desert wind. From there i inched my way through the hills covered in hypnotic windmills. i caught 40 east in Barstow and was soon shouting 'hurray!' as my headlights shone on the big sign reading 'WELCOME TO ARIZONA.'
throughout the trip, i told myself that as long as i was happy on the road, and awake, i would keep going; if i got too tired, i would stop. Everything was just dandy, and i was greatly enjoying the time to think and watch all this earth go flying by... until... somewhere before the Ash Fork exit around 11:30p, exhaustion hit hard and fast. I could hardly see, and felt i was leaving my body. oh yes. i prayed to God then. 'Please God help me stay present and make it to the next exit!' i did make it.. i'm not quite sure how (except the praying to God part).. and then, this stubborn girl knew there was no stopping when i had made it that far, so i refueled my body and the car, joked with the graveyard guy about recent sightings of black bears lounging on the freeway, took a nice cat stretch... and kept going - chipper and awake once again.
I drove through the sleeping city of Flagstaff, and once i had made it well into the familiar pine flats of 89a, i pulled the car over, shut off the headlights and lay on my back on the hood warmed by the overworked little engine. The milky way felt so close that it was a part of me. indeed, i felt a part of the earth and sky all at once, lying there sandwiched between the two, and surrounded by the intoxicating scent of ponderosa pines and the gentle singing of tree frogs. I was back in one of my homes. So i made my was down into the empty tourist town of Sedona.
After arriving here i told the friend i am staying with, how much i enjoyed my 2oish hour trip. She said, "if there is one thing that really IS weird about you.. it would be that..." (she doesn't find my naked 'fin thieving' escapades bizarre or anything.)
People have wondered how and why i could enjoy 20hrs all alone in the car. but, how could i not? it was a fascinating trip, and a wonderful way to connect with myself as well as the land (rather than flying above it). This was also very powerful for me to do alone, and in a way i find it funny that men commented "it's gutsy for 'an attractive woman' to drive such distances alone." i am only perceived as 'gutsy' to people these days because i am beginning to learn to follow my own gut and embrace my unique perspective in life - my own power. That is the hardest thing to do - not the action in and of itself. This trip was pure joy and a wonderful learning experience form me.
Here, my adventures have been many; all a succession of smaller moments and events, which have blown my mind. i have been through a full range of emotions since coming here. it is an odd and slightly sad trip too, as two people who mean a lot to me will be moving soon - one to New Zealand, and the other to Colorado. But, i will leave random Sedona stories for another blog entry - i am quite tired now. below are a few surreal photos a friend took of me at a spring the other day - 'you are always on the other end of the camera - why don't i take some photos of you!' they are interesting, and there are some other really hilarious and crazy ones, but they aren't quite pg-13 enough to put on the internet..
AND, thank you k-rocker for this Great Quote. how incredibly pertinent it is!
"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power."
~ Lao-tzu
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