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Consuming
Ok, so I feel like the writer me is gently oozing back into myself- my brain, my body, my fingers, my consciousness. Whatever it is, why ever I feel like it, wherever this voice is that has to be heard by someone, somewhere, here it goes.
I just spent two weeks in mind-blowing Maui. I’m ready to spend 365 days there squeezing dirt and hanging with chickens, lettuces and avocado trees. I loved it there. I loved the sun that said hello every day and left me with pinkish-brown kissed cheeks. I loved the giant sea turtles that blessed me with their presence when I happened to paddle-meander into their chosen coral reefs. I loved the sunrises that I woke up to every morning and the sunsets that helped me say goodbye to the amazing days that came before them. Maui. Maui Maui Maui. Maui on my brain.
One of the lessons I learned there in Maui was that after dragging toppling suitcases through the airport and squeezing their contents into the convertible (not easy with 2 over-eager packing princesses in a 2 bag trunk space) was that I didn’t need that much at all. At all. Never carried a purse, instead made the camera bag my purse. It had zippers- all I needed. I wore tank tops and swim suits, my same pair of shorts every day, and yes, I had my ‘dress up’ nights, but overall, I only needed a fraction of what I took. As I thought about that, I reflected on ALL the crap that encompasses my life suitcase and man oh man it’s overflowing. I’ve got more clothes than I will ever wear out in my lifetime. It’s so rare that I wear anything thin (side for my favorite pairs of socks- they never seem to last long enough) that I am trying to turn around my consuming habits as of last week.
I go in to stores now, but do it more to look and see what’s there. And strangely, the first thought that I’m thinking when I pick up another beautiful hoody is ‘I don’t need this in Maui.’ I saw a gorgeous watch as I was just flipping through my 15th catalog in the pile that acrued while I was on island, and yep, time doesn’t matter on Maui. Still trying to unpack everything I took- haven’t washed yet, haven’t folded, still in suitcase, but I don’t feel like I even want to put it away.
Have you heard of Saturn Return? Hippy dippy introspective stuff, but the jist is that, based on 7 year cycles, our soul’s energy goes up and down through life– big years being the multiples of 7. I think I heard about this in my 26-27 year. Big crunch, that time between 28-30. Who the heck am I- what am I doing- how do I do it- where do I go- what do I do definition squeezing role playing understanding self stuff. I turned 35 in March. This year has been a tricky one for me (aren’t they all?) but this one feels a little bit different. I feel like I’m allowing myself to become my truest self. I’m enjoying people I love, I’m doing what works for me, I’m making choices for myself. Hoping this doesn’t sound selfish- but acknowledging that to some it will. It’s hard to not feel like putting yourself or your needs first is a bad thing, but right now, I feel like that’s what I should be doing. I want to give myself the space and permission to become what I’ve always referred to as the ‘super-me’. To paint if I feel so inspired, to cook, to swim, to diet, to dance, to sing, to spend time alone, to spend time in a mob, to find my voice when I feel like I should use it— all things that some people figured out a long long long time ago— just not me. I feel like I’m liberating myself- like I’ve got a key and I sneak in to find myself in a bird-cage, and I’m saying ‘go on! spread your wings! fly fly!’ Staying right here for now, but it feels pretty good.
A big part that sounds ridiculous, is that I’m acknowledging to the whole wide world and smiling about it, is yes, I am probably a hippie. I’m a hippie that loves my sassy black shoes that have heels- I’m a hippie that wears lipstick and sometimes digs fashion magazines. I’m a walking contradiction much of the time, but whatever, we all are. But yes, beneath it all, put me in the garden of eden, let me run around in hot tubs with flowers in my hair, I’m a hippie.
Yahoooooooooo!
I digress.
As Journey would sing, I’m feeling the joy of rediscovering myself. I want to figure out what works and what doesn’t… let the rest sluff off, sifted through the fine mesh web of choices and make decisions that I’ll look back on with pride and a great big smile. It feels fantastic and I’m glad I finally made it here.
There. I felt like writing, so I did.