Catching up and Contemplating!

  I'm playing a bit of catch up since my trip in early September before the blanket of toxic smoke rolled over to the Oregon coast on Sept 9th & 10th from the devastating fires in California, Oregon and Washington. I missed the crazy wind storm that my upstairs renters, neighbors and friends told me about which had a lot to do with the severity and numbers of fires and inability for firefighters to do much to prevent the destruction. I was a firefighter in the forest service for two seasons after I got out of college back in the 1980'sthat , but we didn't have the degree of climate change we have now. I learned a lot from that experience and have a great respect for the firefighters. 

Today, I'm counting my blessings and feeling very lucky to have made it home from my trip without delay and that I had (and have) a home to come back to. I realize how life can all change in such a short time though it also moves slowly. 

It's been a shocking realization that so many of my fellow citizens have lost loved ones, pets and homes, that forests and creatures and birds that live in them have lost more habitat and whole towns have been burned to the ground which will mean irreversible change for many. I am reminded of the saying, "there but by the grace of God go I" . I don't know who said that and perhaps should look it up, but today I am celebrating life and being here now. It's the New Moon today and soon it will be the autumn equinox. I did some freestyle improvisational dance to a classical music channel on Pandora and I'm working on some small paintings for a Day of the Dead show in October. 

I am grateful to have seen some whales off the Oregon Coast, incredible scenery and some beautiful sunsets on my trip. I have a new appreciation for clear blue skies and fresh air, that's for sure! We met a friend from central Oregon in Port Orford at a converted farmhouse/kitchen/store painted red and white with patio tables and logs to sit on under tall fir trees out side. It was such a special treat to find the Golden Harvest Herban Market! It reminded me of one of my first jobs working at a healthfood store / deli in the Columbia Gorge when I was a teenager.

I'm glad I followed my intuition and chose to go there for lunch and meet our friend there. We were able to sit with our friend outside at the patio table and eat while enjoying a live music duo. My husband and I ate well on our trip and drank some good wine, met some lovely people, like the woman named Collette running the Bandon Marina Inn in Bandon and the lady running the Airbnb we stayed at in Gold Beach, Cynthia. She has a rustic tree house called the Bluebird House with a wonderful view of the ocean from the deck! The first night we sat in the deck chairs, drank wine and watched the sunset and then the stars! She had a small farm with four miniature donkeys and a super friendly dog named Ratatouille! 

We didn't quite understand what was happening and chose to go South to Brookings the last day of our trip. That day the smoke was blowing from the South East. It would have been a better choice to go North, but we went to the beach North of Bookings called Harris Beach anyway. It was very weird to be going to the beach under those dark, yellow, orange, brown, apocalyptic skies. Other people were there too though so we put out our beach blanket and arranged ourselves and commented on the strange colors of the ocean, the beach and the strip of blue sky beyond the clouds North of us. The pelicans seemed unfazed and bobbed along on the waves. Families were sitting together watching their children play. A small group of photographers took pictures of the rocks and waves crashing. 

After a short time, I got up to walk along the shore and met a woman whom I had a spontaneous and amazing conversation with. We started talking about climate change and the environment. She spoke about how her kids had no interest in having kids themselves. She said she didn't blame them, but as a mother she still held out hopes for grandchildren. I thought of how John Lennon and so many other great people had been born under terrible circumstances and how lucky we were to be here now. I mentioned our ancestors and all they must have gone through. She mentioned she had a family member who had survived the Holocaust and I shared with her something my (sort of, but not really) brother in law who is Jewish told me about Viktor Frankl who wrote about and remembered the small, beautiful acts of kindness that even people in concentration camps had done. I told her that some astrologers believe that we chose to be here now and that we are helping to birth the future which some call the Aquarian Age. I said I couldn't know that for sure, but what if it's true? 

We parted remembering that life is worth living and there is beauty in the chaos. I believe the skies will clear again and there will be healing. Scientists will find a vaccine for Covid19 and we will make positive changes.  We must and we will, together.