Allergic to...life?

As I've begun to land onto the island I find myself covered in mosquito bites. I started getting eaten the night my plane landed. At first I had a bunch of average mosquito-bite-sized bumps on my legs and ankles. This quickly turned into a full-body allergic reaction of proportions never-before experienced. I had an intense case of hives in the form of big red itchy welts. It became so painfully itchy to move, so I spent two days lounging in bed and reading.

As I was reading Pema Chodron, I came across a passage where she talks about transforming poison into beauty. She cites the example of the male peacock who ingests small amounts of poisonous foods in order to brighten the colors in his tail feathers. While I seemingly had no control of the amount of poison coursing through my veins (and thankfully not enough to send me into anaphylactic shock!), it caused me to pause and wonder what brightness, or transformation, or opening this experience might facilitate.

I'm going to Kauai, and I'm taking with me...

To keep ourselves entertained on a road trip this summer, a friend and I played a game where each person says, "I'm traveling to..., I'm getting there by..., and I'm taking with me..." The first person starts with the first letter of the alphabet naming a place, mode of transportation, and object all starting with the letter "A", next person does the same with the letter "B", and so on to the end of the alphabet.

As I've been packing and gathering together my things to take to Kauai with me, I feel a little like I'm playing that game. The preparations are happening on physical, emotional, and spiritual levels.

I'm going to Kauai, and I'm taking with me a basket with Joy, Creativity, Curiosity, Intuition, Improvisation, and a journal with which to make art that might not be pretty, but is REAL. I am bringing business cards that have my name, and then underneath state that I offer dance/movement and creative arts therapies. May they be my reminder that this journey is a threshold crossing. That it is a time of reconnection and growth. Shedding the skin that is old and no longer fits, in order to grow and expand. Aren't snakes incredibly vulnerable for several days after shedding? I take with me this vulnerability. I bring it with me to cultivate it, to really get to know it, to learn to use it in service of others.

I bring with me the red and gold sparkly shawl a friend brought back for me from India. When I first opened the package, I thought, "oh that's pretty, but it's not really me...it's too pretty for me to wear." I wear the shawl on my shoulders as a reminder of the inherent inner beauty I carry with me where ever I may travel.

I bring with me yarn and knitting needles as a reminder that I am a weaver. A weaver of seemingly disparate worlds, curling, winding, and twisting them around each other in just the right way to make a beautifully strong garment.

I bring with me an open heart and hands ready to tend the earth...

Following bliss

Something beautiful happened the other day. I made the decision to follow my bliss and move to Kauai for the next 6 months. After deciding, I called up my brother, who just graduated from college in May and has been living in the basement of my mother's house in the suburbs without a car. While I'm generally a proponent of car-free living, I happen to have one that I drive right now, and understand how useful and even important it can be. So, after deciding to go to Hawaii, the first call I make is to my brother. Now we're not super close, and I often don't just call him to talk.

So, I say, "Hey, I'm moving to Kauai, do you want the car?".
He says, "Oh my god, that would totally change my life. It would open up my possibilities for getting a job and getting around."

I smiled.
There was something so poetic about making the decision to following my bliss, and in turn be able to offer a gift of grace to someone else...