We can’t go outside. The result of the disastrous fires in the areas surrounding LA is that the level of smoke, ash and particulate matter in the air is unhealthy. This is not helpful in lifting the gloom of my mood today.
I had hoped to get out to the house, and wander around the Old Town Torrance Street Faire that is held a few minutes away the fourth Sunday of each month. These kinds of events never fail to lift my spirit. There is something about vendors setting up booths, the sound of music, and the aroma of interesting foods being cooked for sale.
There is a kind of brightness in the smiles of people who are looking for treasures that someone else is ready to give up. Hearing conversations of people having fun, and the general atmosphere of gaiety is infective.
Not that I want or need anything. Or, want to add to the stuff I already have. But it’s still fun to find a little curiosity that will bring a smile when I look at it.
Jennifer talks about the feeling when she writes about her passion for garage sales on her blog. I share her enthusiasm for this kind of activity. Which is very contradictory, considering the time I have spent of late, trying to scale down, and unload much of the things that have taken over my space.
But, I am not going to the faire. I already feel crummy, and I don’t want to add to the effect by breathing in particulates that will make me feel worse. Even Pete doesn’t want to go outside. He said he was thinking of taking a walk, but due the conditions, he has reconsidered.
Looking at the grey orange sky from inside the house is not what I wished to do with my day. I don’t know what I wanted. But, being outside feels necessary for me to become rooted again. I wish I could be transported instantly to a beautiful area in the local mountains, where the air is brisk and clean smelling, where it would feel good to just breathe.
I do know that reconnecting with the Internal Presence has nothing to do with where you are or what is outside, but what is within.
But something about standing under the sky, feeling the sun or the breeze, smelling the scent of growing things, hearing the sound of nature, or mingling with crowds, all tend to help me come home.
Maybe it is the essence of life that is so apparent, that helps me reconnect with the whole. Well, I guess this is an opportunity for me to stretch.
and then imagine your dear brother and his family and other long time family friends are all in peril and you keep listening to the media and then periodically checking in with family and you are reporting news and they are like "really???" because while the fire did get within blocks, the news stories are causing extra anxiety and when you can reach family they have to clarify the "news facts"
oh, and aunt judi...irish is in simi valley and kay and my mom are in maui and hearing this on cnn...kay lives in simi
see you next monthXOXO