Can you believe it’s already August? We’ve been here on the central Oregon coast since mid-May, our longest time in one place without volunteering. When I see the summer temperatures around the country, I can’t imagine being anywhere but here, where it averages 60° every day. Sometimes it’s sunny, sometimes foggy, sometimes gray and overcast. They are all my favorites.
We are adjusting to life without Cody. It’s the first time in our thirty one years together that we don’t have a dog. And now it’s just us. I realize how much time and energy and attention went to his care, and how I relied on him for my own regular moving and walking. Sure, now we can go away all day, with no time restraints, but we haven’t done that yet.
But it was a blessing that he did not have to endure the week we spent living in an RV repair shop parking lot last month. We drove 140 miles inland to Grants Pass to a highly recommended company for help with our suspension. Because we were parked and living in the parking lot, we had to be out of the RV by 8 am, and most days we couldn’t return until 5 pm.
So every morning we drove to one of the city parks along the Rogue River where I rode my bike and Marika walked by the water. By noon, it was already in the 90’s and too warm to be outside. All of the museums were closed, so we’d pick up lunch and spend the afternoon in the clean, empty, but sterile waiting room.
One day we did laundry and went food shopping, one day we checked out the thrift stores in town. We visited a glass blowing studio, spent a morning at the Pacifica Forest Farm and Nature Center, and had delicious hand pies at the farmer’s market. The hand pies were so good that we drove out to their farm on Monday morning to buy more.
Because all of our parts didn’t arrive, we had to stay the weekend, so the owners gave us gift cards to Olive Garden, and a local ice cream place that was delicious. As cranky as I could have been about the delays, I was grateful for their generosity, and that we had a free place to park with electricity and water, a dump a block away, fast wifi, places to be in nature every day, and everything we needed was within two miles.
We finally drove back to the coast with new shocks, a Super Spring suspension system to raise up the back of the RV, and an upgrade to the steering. And we bought two more new tires for the front, for a total of six since May. The ride home was smooth and quiet and stable. Now we just need a front end alignment and an oil change this week, and we’ll be ready to hit the road.
Except there’s no better place to be right now. We are loving the quiet community of Charleston, with fresh fish and crab, and a new fish and chips place to try every week. The weather is always perfect, even when it’s foggy or cloudy. I sleep well with the windows open, and I am comfortable wearing shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt to protect my arms from the sun.
I’m still riding my bike every morning around the marina, and most days I meet Marika on the jetty and we walk together to our private beach on the bay. She checks out the scoters, common murre, and an occasional brown pelican with her binoculars, and I watch the slow ripples of water trying to be waves. On low tide mornings we walk along the rocks and look for anemones, crabs, and sea stars in the crevices.
Sometimes we’ll drive into town in the afternoon to check out the thrift stores, or try some new take out. Last week we took a private tour of the Marshfield Printing Museum and learned about the local paper that was completely run by one man for more than fifty years. Some afternoons we drive to the beach. But most days we just hang out at home, not doing much of anything. We really miss volunteering, having a work schedule, learning stuff, and sharing with others.
Last Monday, Marika took herself birding so that I could work on a new vision board. I’ve made several in the last fifteen years, and everything on them has manifested. So I thought it’d be a great way to spark some new energy and passion.
I found a few magazines in the laundromat, turned on some baroque music, which is said to inspire creativity, and had a fun time tearing colorful images from the pages. But I ran out of magazines. And in these pandemic times, it’s been hard to find more. So yesterday, I got on my bike and went for a Vision Ride. I pedaled out to the marina parking lot and asked, “How can I be more active?”
These past few weeks I’d been thinking about how everything, including my work, is quite passive right now. I’m not walking much. I’m watching a lot of TV. And, if people are buying my book, or Prayer Flags, or Heart Sparks cards, it is not from any effort on my part. It’s like that’s my old work, been there, done that, so now what?
As I pedaled up and down the parking lot, trying to open up to new ideas, I thought about an email that a coaching client had sent me a few weeks ago about a good friend of hers. The friend had been struggling over the past year with her job, the end of a long term relationship, and generally trying to figure out what her next steps were.
At some point my client told her about me, our coaching, and my book, and the friend said she ordered the book, took copious notes, and it has been one of the best tools she has found. She said she liked it better than Martha Beck’s Finding Your Own North Star. The friend recently left her unsatisfying job and enjoyed a mini vacation before beginning her new one. My client said she sounded lighter than she has in months, and that I played a large part in that.
And I realized that I don’t need to create something new. This is my work. And this is what I love. So how can I actively share this work?
And then I had a clear vision of an intimate virtual group gathering, and we were using Heart Sparks cards as prompts for free writing, and then sharing. It felt warm and powerful, like magic.
When I got home, I found a webpage I’d created a while back that just needed a few changes to make it current. I looked at my calendar to see how seven weeks could spread across the rest of our time here. And I put out the invitation.
Suddenly I am excited about something. I can feel the sparks of possibility, imagining a woman reading about the Heart Sparks Circle and saying, “Hmmm, yes… that sounds like exactly what I am needing right now.”
I know it’s what I need right now.
So if you are feeling stuck, or unmotivated, even if you’re not sure where the resistance is, the Heart Sparks Virtual Coaching Circle can support you as you explore and claim and manifest something that sparks your own heart. Details are here. And if you’re not sure, or just want to chat, I’d love to connect.
