"Let each individual who is approached, let each experience, let each day be a new thing, a new opportunity to learn more, to help more. And then do write, and let your imagination run wild, and you will find you can make just as interesting a life experience as you desire."
Edgar Cayce (italics added)
I read this quote by Edgar Cayce, known as the “sleeping prophet”, on the morning of New Year's Day 2023. It spoke loudly to me because I haven’t written in a while. So, today seemed an auspicious day to get back to my keyboard.
2023 – It feels as though I have been waiting to turn into this new year for a long while. A turning away from years of circular momentum towards a boundless future of brighter days. I have written before of how rarely I am accurate in labeling anything as “good” or “bad”. And though I'm fully aware I’ve just done that, I am not alone in my prediction that we are most certainly moving forward – or some might say "higher". Whether we experience this change in fear or with excitement is ours to choose.
Stillness
You may have seen the carnival ride that tips and spins so fast that, even when its floor drops from beneath you, you remain fixed to the wall. That's how I have felt these past years since the end of my walk in November 2019. Though the world kept spinning with all its predictable and constant motion, I became frozen in space. This feeling of being "out of time", watching the shifting dynamics around me like a big picture screen, the Earth not offering any sense of grounding, was sourced from an unusual lateral gravity. I was pinned to the outer edges of familiarity where the velocity of a changing world compelled me to simply be still.
At first, after several years living a rather nomadic lifestyle, a bit of down-time was welcomed. I enjoyed staying in a warm bed rather than rising with the sun only to labor towards my next cold sunrise. I was thankful for the variety of healthy foods stocked in the refrigerator rather than gorging on greasy calories of convenience store breakfast pizza. And while I remained extremely grateful for these comforts, my body continued to crave motion. So, I answered that call by planning, scheduling, and preparing, only to witness their component parts swirl 'round and 'round me until the force of their mockery flung them into their destined abyss. In my state of arrest, I could do nothing but watch.
Letting Go
We know change is inevitable. In fact, it is one of the few truths I can hang my hat on. There is no shortage of bruhaha churning in today’s world, and much of it kept me from my meticulously-laid plans. It also kept me where I needed to be. So, while some of what has transpired over the years may appear scary and unnerving, I choose to not distinguish "good" from "bad" but rather look straight through all the fracas to that which might be gained – and to catch a glimpse of what is coming behind it. Progress is often disguised within chaos.
Even after a long, wild carnival ride I still get dizzy if I look backwards too long. I get dizzy if I look to my left or right or in any direction other than what is right in front of me. Its the only way to stabilize my sight. So today, this first day of 2023, I am facing forward – in a new year, a new day, a new moment, and with new choices.
Stillness No More
My years-long travel resolutions have been permanently scratched. However, when the timing was right, a door opened and I drove right through it – my life no longer on pause. The tiny Happier Camper I ordered in 2020 finally became road-ready a few weeks ago so I've transitioned into a nomadic lifestyle once again and headed for Georgia (this time with a great deal more comfort).
Dissolving my need to know what tomorrow will bring is a masterful skill learned over many years and thousands of miles. I have little idea where I'll be next month and certainly no idea what surprises might happen on the world stage. But by listening to impulses deep within, I have faith I will receive quiet guidance – much like the decrees that literally went from stillness, stillness, stillness to GO!
I've discovered when the floor drops from under my feet, my momentum carries me until I hear those little whispers of opportunities. These moments are gifted to me as initiations of the heart. Though losing ground may initially catch me off guard, in my experience, it is likely to propel me onto a path I hadn't even known existed.
2023 – I'm ready and excited for you!
I wish you all an adventurous, wonder-filled new year of writing your own beautiful stories – full of light, learning, listening and loving!
Happy Travels, Paula! Please keep in touch.