We’ve been in Memphis, Tennessee this past week, first a few miles north of the city at a state park in the thick of the forest, and now, at an RV park in West Memphis, on the Arkansas side of the Mighty Mississippi.
The forest was so dense that we had no cell signal, no TV reception, no wifi. Yes, it was beautifully green, but it was so incredibly muggy and buggy, that we mostly stayed inside, playing dominoes and reading. For people who have full and busy lives with very little quiet, offline time, this might seem like heaven, but it was very challenging for us. We drove into the nearby town twice, just to get out of the dark, oppressive woods.
In the early evening we drove through the park, to the boat ramp on the Mississippi River. There was no place to walk or sit, so we drove over to the larger of the two lakes in the park and walked around, looking for birds. I had two bars on my phone, so I came back the next day for a coaching call. It was warm, even in the shade, but not unbearable, since I was sitting still. But after a while, even the bug spray wasn’t keeping the mosquitoes away, and I was glad to get back to the air-conditioned RV.
After three nights in the trees, we drove closer to Memphis, and are now staying at a private campground right on the Mississippi River. We have a wide open view of the sky and the river and the barges going up and down.
And Cody has a huge grassy field to play in. Every day the sky fills with rain-promising clouds, but it always passes, leaving us in a blanket of thick, muggy air. But, thankfully, as moist as the air is, there are no bugs, because the city sprayed the area the day before we arrived.
But we’ve gone out in it. We visited the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum. Underground, as in Undercover. Railroad, as in many stops. The guided tour was a telling of the horrific slave trade, and slave conditions, and how the man who owned this house had to pretend to have slaves in order to blend in and not raise suspicion.
We learned the secret codes of the quilts that the runaways used to find the next safe house. We saw the tunnels under the house where they crawled in, and stood in the basement hiding room where they waited until a safe boat was coming up the Mississippi to take them further north.
We went to the Cotton Museum and Mud Island and learned about the history of life on the Mississippi River, then took a riverboat cruise in the afternoon.
We sat in the middle tier which was shaded, but there were no fans or a/c, not even a slight river breeze. And we were on that boat for two and a half hours, on the edge of heat exhaustion. And so we cancelled the rest of our sightseeing plans for the week.
On Sunday, I attended the Open Heart Spiritual Center’s Celebrationwhere I was invited to speak again. I received the invitation the Monday before, and I had gone into pure panic mode–What would I talk about? How would I connect to their monthly theme? How could I possibly be ready on such short notice?
I kept myself up that first night in crazy thinking. In the morning I started writing down all kinds of thoughts, thrilled for the opportunity, and terrified that I wouldn’t be ready. And then a dear friend suggested that just telling my story might be inspiration enough, that I didn’t have to turn it into an obvious teaching thing.
And then I was able to breathe. I wrote some more, and started to get excited about it all, knowing that, by Sunday I’d be all-in. I found the story to tell, with a beginning, middle and end, and I had clarity about what I wanted to leave my listeners with. I took a walk and talked it out loud, and just like that, by Saturday evening, I was ready.
And it was amazing. Not just my offering, but being in community with people I knew, with singing and hugging, and so much heart sparking. And right there, in the middle of my speech, I realized, out loud, that I want more of this kind of connection.
Now I know that I can find these kinds of Sunday celebrations all along our travels. Not just as an opportunity to speak, but for me, the person who craves this kind of heart connection.
We’re leaving Memphis tomorrow, spending a few days in Alabama and eastern Tennessee for some touristy things, then we’re heading north, out of this humidity. I’m not sure yet what route we’ll be taking, but we’re watching the weather as we decide.
Click here for the link to the video of my talk at Open Heart Spiritual Center.
And here are links to some of the songs I’ve been singing since we’ve been here. I hope they put a smile on your face and a spark in your heart.
Joni Mitchell’s Furry Sings the Blues
Marc Cohn’s Walking in Memphis
Paul Simon’s Graceland
