Bon Voyage, Mes Amis

Nala dog waits anxiously in a newly-emptied living room

At the turn of the month, our good  friends, Gemini Cricket, Hot Mama Honeybee, and baby June Firefly, will be embarking on a Grand Adventure.  They have given away or loaned out all of the belongings in their comfy 2-story home ~ furniture, kitchenware, decor, mementos, an extensive and hand-picked art collection.  They are leaving a well-cultivated life with reliable jobs and a solid, interconnected, fun community of friends ~ to move into an Airstream, and then across the country and into the unknown.  

I made a similar exfoliation of my former life just a few years ago (still proud that I came out to start over with only seven (7) packing boxes ~ which included my sewing machines and art supplies, costuming and huge platform boots, and my loyal stuffed koala, Sheltowee), but in retrospect it seems I had  a lot less responsibility and a lot less to lose  ~ although I still miss my community every single day.   Don't want to discount my experience, for it changed me and my path forever in countless ways.  But looking at what they're doing from the vantage point of my cozy, feathered nest with family, solidly in my thirties, I wince a little and think, "Yeesh!  That's a big leap!"

As always, these guys give me pause to think.  I look around the house which we've only occupied for a year and a half now, and marvel at the piles of clutter that never disappear, but simply get dispersed ~ to recollect in a week or so.  The clutter gets so noisy in my periphery (and we keep a pretty tidy house for the most part) that it drives me out the door ~ which is the best place to be anyway.  Which leads me back to these traveling folks and what they are essentially forcing themselves to do.  Be outside more.  

And just *be*, without the stuff.   The process of skin shedding has been a huge and complicated challenge to them already.  I give them 1000 kudos for the effort and perseverance.   And for that, I dedicate perhaps my favorite moment from perhaps my favorite movie, "Harold and Maude."  (and I think I've already told this to Gemini, so I'm sorry if it's anticlimactic, but I still love how appropriate it is.)  When they are sitting together by the little pond, after having a wonderful time together, and Harold hands Maude the little coin that has engraved on it, "Harold loves Maude."   And she says, "Oh, Harold, it's wonderful!" and immediately flings it into the water.  "Now I'll always know where it is!" (or something like that.)  

But, my friends, more than forcefully detaching yourself from possessions, security, and comfort, I salute you for following your gut.  There's a little saying (from a tea bag label) that's been glued to my keyboard since not long after I took my big jump a few years ago:  "Live from your heart, you will be truly satisfied."  May your ear always be tuned to the frequency of your heart.