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Category: life

Serendipity, or no such thing as coincidence

Snake Gulch Kaibab National Forest ArizonaWhat are the chances of being on the edge of a wilderness and meeting a future hiking companion?  That’s what happened last week when I went to hike in Snake Gulch but didn’t hike.  If I had hiked I wouldn’t have met Bill and Sasha.  In fact I thought that morning if I had someone to hike with I might have been more motivated to get out there.  That’s serendipity.

Forest Road 642 Kaibab National Forest ArizonaYou may remember last week when I didn’t hike into Snake Gulch and on the drive out met another truck coming in.  After negotiating the vehicle pass on a narrow gravel road I continued to a rock art panel.  That’s where Bill, driver of other truck, and I chatted along the road for four hours while his dog Sasha sniffed out every bush in sight.

Sasha Kaibab National Forest ArizonaBill is a retired Kanabanite who worked for both the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for years on the Colorado Plateau.  He and Sasha got together with an adoption from Best Friends in Kanab, Utah.

I think he talks as much as I do, if that’s possible.  Yet what a delight to find someone who actually knows how to converse.

After several emails and a long phone conversation we made plans to visit White Pocket on the BLM Vermilion Cliffs National Monument on my next days off.  This is a place I’ve dreamed of visiting for quite a while and although not that far from the North Rim, requires 4×4 to get through the deep sandy roads.  And Bill has the right truck for the job.

Bill & Sasha White Pocket BLM Vermilion Cliffs National Monument ArizonaI’ll post Wednesday about the trip to the surreal fantasyland of White Pocket.

life 23 Comments

Do you talk to yourself?

Gaelyn talking to herselfDo you talk to yourself?  Out loud, record, or just in your head?  I hope I’m not the only one.  In fact sometimes I actually wonder if I said something out loud.

Gaelyn in truck Yarnell ArizonaAlthough I’m a list maker I drive alone a lot when I can’t be writing things down. (Hey, I’m a street photographer and busy taking photos while driving.) But being solo gives me time to think. I use a little recorder that’s easy to operate and supposedly plugs into my computer but I haven’t figured that last part out. So I transcribe. What the heck I used to be a secretary.  It can take a while, depending on how long the drive, yet often gives me an almost complete blog post.  Like this one.

Sony voice recorderI live alone and often go days without talking to other people.  Yet maybe because I’m a babble mouth I still talk.  Especially when something goes either terribly wrong or incredibly right.  If I drop something I may swear followed by a hardy laugh at myself.  Sometimes I mutter while looking for something.

And when I’m writing I read aloud to hear if this makes any sense.  Does it?  Wonder if that’s like the tree falling in the forest thing?

Thinking out loud helps me clarify.  Just hearing myself puts ideas in perspective.

Feeling down?  Turn it around.  Get rid of the negatives.  That’s something I work on all the time.

How about a pep talk while looking in the mirror?  I may not get a compliment from anyone else but myself.  Puts a smile on my face and I feel ready to face the world.  Say it out loud.  I am beautiful!

Gaelyn's shadow on Rainbow Rim trail Parissawampitts Point Kaibab National Forest ArizonaSometimes I talk aloud while hiking alone for safety purposes depending on what kind of animals may be around.  Or whistle, sing (no wants to hear that) or hum.  Yet I prefer to be extremely quiet in nature and listen to the world around me.

I’m not crazy.  People may think talking to yourself is a sign of insanity.  Although it can be a symptom of schizophrenia.  Of course in today’s techno world it sometimes seems like a lot of folks talk to themselves until you see the ear bud.  If I’m with people I want to talk with them, not my phone.

Did you know this?  Talking to yourself is also known as “intrapersonal communication”.  Internal monologue.  Research indicates it’s a healthy thing to do unless you’re talking negative.  Could be a concern if you tell yourself a joke and then laugh aloud.

Gaelyn Walhalla Plateau North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaHey if there’s nobody else to talk to why not me, I’m intelligent.

So do you talk to yourself?  Do you call yourself by name?

 

life 36 Comments

I lost my way for a while

I lost my way for a while. Not going to South Africa this winter caused me a lack of focus for the winter months.  Instead I obsessed with getting a camper so I could comfortably travel in the warmer Southwest. And I sat a lot in the desert, not doing or going too much, or at least not every day. Waiting. Seems I do that a lot, waiting. Online waiting for FB. Waiting for parts. Waiting for, sometimes I don’t know what.  I lost my way for a while.  Adjusting to the lack of direction.  Feeling on the edge of anxiety, what to do, where to GO.  Not life threatening mind you.  Not for the first time in my life.  Has this happened to you along life’s journey?

Mountain Palm Springs Anza-Borrego Desert State Park CaliforniaThen one day, amongst all the quiet, my shoulders relaxed as a sign of released tension.  Throughout the next several days I truly concentrated on the joys of life, acknowledging each experience with a smile.  Over several days the moments of joy became more frequent.  I even embraced going to town—not my favorite place to be—for banking and groceries smiling at strangers, and they smiled back.  I’ve lost count of the moments and with clearer eyes walk in the desert, a place that seems to struggle to survive, yet that’s so untrue because the life here has adapted to it’s environment, not fought against it.  The arid desert requires time and patience with sudden bursts of growth.

Now it feels good, this waiting. Not obsessed with planning, going or doing anything in particular.  Pretty much one day at a time. As I left Yarnell, Berta asked how long I’d be gone. I don’t know, whatever it takes. My only commitment starts January 17th outside of Quartzsite meeting friends from various parts of the country where we’ll boondock on the desert and share stories and life.

I can’t just wait for life to happen, but sometimes it feels good to slow down and maybe even stop to access self and look forward.

Elephants Addo Elephant National Park South AfricaAfter a busy summer season of schedules I look forward to downtime and often become a bit of a hermit for a while.  Berta usually gives me a week before dragging me happily off to thrift stores with grocery shopping thrown in.  Slowly I work into a winter plan, or like the last two years gear up for travels in South Africa.  I definitely miss Joan and South Africa and plan to return next winter.  Yippee, something to look forward to!

DSCN1099 g-2 (1024x768)-2But in the meantime, I am a very Happy Camper, soaking up each day, and discovering I’m not lost, just following an unfamiliar path.

How do you find your way when lost?

life 35 Comments

Lijit

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