I’ve got reservations. Twenty to be exact. RV campground reservations that will take us from Los Angeles all the way to Minnesota this summer.
May 30th, that’s the date. The date we will be moving out of this little temporary home and putting very little of what we own (because we now actually own very little) into a not so big, not so small RV and traveling for several months. As of this moment the plan is to arrive in Minnesota on June 28th and then “camp around” the Twin Cities and surrounding areas for a few months while we go to a whole bunch (whole whole bunch) of open houses.
There are a lot of holes in this plan. I don’t need to point them out to you. They are clear and bright and shiny. You may have to cover your eyes actually. I’ll definitely be packing sunglasses.
But here’s what the plan does have…possibility. The possibility of learning something that, right now, I just couldn't for the life of me tell you – which is what we want, where we are going or what it’s going to look like. The whole reason this whole thing started was that I realized I didn’t actually know what I truly wanted (hence, the finding what’s true)...and here’s the thing, sometimes if you’re looking for something you’ve never had, seen or felt you’re going to have to go beyond the things you already have, see, and feel…you just gotta go…if you want to know know.
So, instead of pretending we have the faintest idea of what we want, we’re going to drive around a bit more this summer. We’re going to stay at some farms, talk to some people we’ve never met, living life in ways we haven’t imagined, stay in some cities, explore some neighborhoods, get quiet and think about what brings us joy. And what kind of life would allow that joy to grow in ways that would expand and be not just for the good of us, but our kids, our neighbors and community, and the causes we care about.
Because here’s what I am realizing; joy is where love and truth reside (it’s like a cozy nest for those buggers) and where love and truth reside, so do all the good, powerful, and magical things. Joy is profoundly personal but it’s also universal, powerful and ultimately a radical act. It doesn’t give a hoot what your neighbor thinks because it’s coming from a deep deep place of love. And it usually has a sense of humor. Which let’s be honest we could all use a bit of right now.
But you have to tune into it, as in you literally have to tune yourself towards it everyday and sometimes you’re gonna get bad reception and all you’ll hear is static. If this keeps happening you might just have to get yourself into a better service area. Plain and simple.
Still, I have reservations. I see all that could go awry. And yet, even with all the crazy unknowns, man this direction just feels true. It feels good. All the other ways forward feel small and tight, maybe a little sad and just not right. So onward we shall go and maybe we’ll learn a thing or two about possibility and magic and find out that we’re a-okay with all the things we just don’t know yet.
I’m off to find some boxes, a dutch oven that will fit in my motorhome oven, and hopefully an actually affective natural mosquito repellent (does this exist?? let me know).
If you want to be a part of a warm and humorous conversation around the irritating (seriously) nature of joy and all the ways we make it into a mythical creature, we will be gnawing it over at this next weekend's Slow Down Sister zoom meeting. Sunday April 2nd from 1-2pm. Simply sign up by upgrading and becoming a paid subscriber for $5 a month. I’d love to see you there!
I’ll also leave you with a quote from our pop-up book club book The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. It fits nicely into today’s conversation. The whole book is underlined at this point…soooo yeah.