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Saturday, June 21, 2014

Liftoff!

Soundtrack:
David Bowie - Space Oddity


On Friday the 13th, the day after my birthday, I jumped out of a plane along with 3 of my friends from work. It is something we had been planning for over a year, and we decided it was necessary to do before my roadtrip out of the state.  I look forward to posting the pictures later, but I mention it now because my thoughts keep going back to that moment while I'm driving across country with Amber and our rabbit, Brutus.

I feel like I am very much in freefall.  I'm optimistic, though.  Skydiving taught me that much, I guess - when there's too much to process all happening at once, but also great beauty in front of you, appreciate the beauty and still focus on what you are doing.

There are many people to visit! We are making our way to Dallas, TX to visit my childhood friend, Phil.  On the way we've stopped by Paducah, KY to chat with a fellow Theosophist named Jeanette who was kind enough to put us up for the night.  It brings back memories of visiting my Grandma.  She has fed us so much, she tells us stories of what it's like being a Great Depression baby, she tells us stories about how her father and grandfather built the house we are staying, and she keeps telling us how much of a gift it is to have us visit her.  I have looked through so many photo albums of pictures before I was born.


We talked about Theosophy and the Theosophical Society.  We've all told our stories of how we came to study Theosophy in the first place, which is always a fascinating story no matter who you ask.  Her story involves growing up between a Lutheran father and a Church of Christ mother who never quite resolved their theological differences.  She was searching, and found books on Theosophy through a friend.

She showed us many pictures of her with former TS president Betty Bland at the Still Light center, a Theosophical camp in South Carolina that has since closed down.  It was a camp that meant a lot to many people, as I have heard about it often.  I am very grateful to Jeanette and people like her, because I love being around people who can talk about Theosophy and their experiences with it.


The chronicles of Brutus also continue on the road.  He has been unsure of what we are up to ever since we started moving all our furniture out of the apartment in Wheaton.  Everytime I look back at him in the car backseat he stares at me as if I am a stranger to him.  Although, when we do stop for gas breaks in the countryside he brightens up and hops around cheerfully.  We will see how takes five days in the car.

As a final note, I am so grateful to everyone who has helped me, everyone who has helped me pack, everyone who has had a party or said goodbye to me, and everyone who has encouraged me to follow my intuition.  I feel like I'm not losing a family, just broadening it across the country.  And I know I will do good work when I land in San Diego, because I feel the strength of others pushing me forward.

The day before leaving I received an email from a person I respect, though don't have a lot of interaction with.  He said: "James, I have thought about you off and on this month. I hope all your plans are falling into place. God's peace to you and your wife. I have very fond thoughts of you and your mission. Hope to run into you again."

That stuff makes my day.

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