Sonder Road

The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.

Rafael Minguet Delgado photographer

We do everything together. We look alike, we talk alike, we act alike, we group think. We gossip about other birds. We like hanging around trashcans. We do flocking.

- the pigeons

I am introspective. I am emotionally rich. I am a colorful personality. I am a balance of brightness and intelligence. I love solo travel adventures.

- the flamingo

The postcard arrived on time.

Aºtlas of the Soul explores what it means to be true to soul with full dedication and authenticity. This is the present journey.

soul light

My parameters have changed and I am finding my wings. I can say I am somewhere between The Blue Lagoon and On Golden Pond. If truth be told, I am up in the sky— in a wild swan ballet.

“To explore Kokoro is to explore the very essence of what it means to be human in this tough yet devastatingly beautiful world. When you learn to live guided by the light in your Kokoro, everything changes, and anything is possible.” (from back cover, Kokoro by Beth Kempton)

A pause before entering the studio, a moment to drink in my surroundings for this day’s gratitude list. Right before me stands a the hill of tall pines with the morning blue sky above. And I remember: ‘I carry the forest with me.’ Suddenly, a burst of birdsong call and what my grandchildren say sound like “Cheese-burger! Cheese-burger!” And I laugh in delight. This is my day-start. It is SoulCircle writing prompt day.

Welcome to Wings.

sonder road

I stopped speaking. The realization that I was once again placing myself in the limelight of the conversation washed over me. What I truly desire is to hear what my daughter has to say. Her life is remarkable. She is the mother of six children. She is beautiful inside and out. Her personality shines like the sun. She is extremely intelligent. She cares about everyone in her friendship circles.

Flamingo be still! Listen.

Our lives are now divided. We do not share a family home. I am finding my way as a working artist/writer and she is filling her role as a mother and homemaker.

Sonder: ‘The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own’ from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig.

soul work

A complex and vivid reality. For many years I have delayed the ‘empty nest’ syndrome. The empty nest syndrome is the emotional distress one may feel when children leave home, often involving grief, loneliness, and a sense of lost purpose. As a single parent and woman, I face aloneness for the first time in my life, at age 64.

How many people move in with a complete stranger? I do.

Room for rent: right price.

Great location: within walking distance to my studio.

Situation: a place for my belongings, the Siamese elder queen, a (micro) baby grand piano, a crazy male robin fighting his reflection in the large clean windows, hopefully mating season will end before he does.

Amenities: the walls of palest blue with white fascia board trim, wooden laminate flooring, throw rugs modestly placed, shared facilities, ultra clean home, large (clean) windows, backyard a slope of wild trees and overgrowth, front yard overlooking one of Saint Marie’s wood mills.

Requirements: downsize personal belongings to monk status

Housemate: questionable.

Addendum: Brene Brown journal work setting healthy boundaries.

soul strength

Choose practices that nurture your spiritual, emotional, and mental well-being. Meditation, setting boundaries, and self-care rituals uplift and calm and are pure goodness. Walking outdoors, observing nature, watching passer-bys, quiet thoughts, mindful of body and spirit, cleansing pent-up nervousness, releasing grief, setting new goals, open to new community, forging new friendships, reacquainting with passion.

How did I know to write this? Now, I need to live it.

Your soul represents your potential.
Your soul is rare— one of a kind.
Your soul is precious to God.

the present journey

"Aging is a privilege." - Lindsey Stirling.

Vivid and complex. I have another sobriety birthday in the rearview mirror. This one took the cake. Still standing, but I now have a new term for upcoming anniversaries: “Expect the Crucible.”

I found a new ponderance: Staying in the Love of God. My soul began listening and I encouraged its surrender. Things got better. I felt better. Day by day— a little stronger, a little braver, a little less angry, a little more genuine.

I am not alone in this universe. Friends and family members with vivid and complex lives reached out to share in celebration of my milestone via social media and text messages. Making the time to celebrate miracles. Finding out I can celebrate their miracles on the red road too.

Becoming Real is the destination.

I accept the mirror as a reflection not an identity. Abiding is an address not an aspiration— a lovely saying by Cindy Mount of Ordinary Faithfulness.

To Be List

To Be trying New Things.

To Be reintroducing Play.

To Be noticing the “Ordinary”.

To Be practicing Self-Compassion.

To Be embracing the inner child and the woman I am.

To Be prioritizing “Awe”.

To Be ‘published author.’

{ Balancing of life in the present journey. }

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