The Journey
[Lights hanging in trees in Copenhagen.]
I can’t count how many times it has crossed my mind that I haven’t yet written about the night I saw Mary Oliver speak, which was just a few days before I went to Jordan. And I’m amazed I haven’t written about it, because I took her words, her voice and her presence across an ocean and a couple of continents, back home and everywhere else I’ve been since then. After hearing her read The Journey aloud, followed by the barely audible gasp that traveled through the audience when she was finished, those words entered my bloodstream, and have been traveling with me ever since. I think about that particular moment of the evening quite often, and every single time I get goose bumps. In that instant, when she finished with the words “…the only life you could save” I think everyone in the audience felt we were in the presence of God, who was standing before us in the form of a tiny old woman in black who also liked to talk about her dog Percy*.
Mary Oliver explained that she wrote that poem more than thirty years ago. When she said that, I marveled that those words somehow managed to float through the world and across time into my awareness. How did I find her? I don’t even know. But that night, hearing those words in her voice, I had a moment of perfection, and there was nothing more in the world I wanted, needed or wished for.
* Percy is also the name of the gardener/handyman who worked on May Sarton’s property. Coincidence?
~
I arrived in Copenhagen last night, and spent this afternoon wandering around, picking up some goodies and taking pictures. On my way back to our hotel around 3:00pm, I suddenly felt the exhaustive effects of jet lag, three plane rides and five days packed with many miles on foot. So I decided that at this particular point of my journey here in Denmark, it was time to be still. I am now in our hotel room, feet up on the table, and a live band just started playing outside (kind of marching band-ish. OK – I just looked out our window, and it is a marching band. They are walking all over Tivoli Gardens, which is a kooky little amusement park of sorts just behind our hotel. But I digress.)
As I was walking back to our hotel – before I made the decision to lay low for the rest of the day – I was thinking about how it has felt being on my own these last three days, for they have been the days my husband has been most occupied with work. And I thought about an idea I’ve had for a long time, which is the notion that someday I might wander all over the world indefinitely, and might very well do that alone. This is not something I am necessarily wishing for – it isn’t a longing to fulfill something in me that I think is missing. In other words, it isn’t an idea I am attached to. It is more like something that just feels like it might happen – that someday, somehow, and perhaps for reasons that won’t be pleasant or easy – this is what I will do.
Or perhaps I am only embellishing a truth that feeds me and gives me strength – that the responsibility for this journey I am on is mine to care for and manage, and no one else. Maybe in these thought experiments I’m just adding a lot of exotic, challenging and fascinating backdrops. Either way, these thoughts led me to Mary Oliver, and the night I heard her speak just about two months ago, when she read the words that are now with me everywhere – words that remind me that no one else can show me the way to my own truth, and that as long as I remember this, I’ll never really be lost.
“…there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper,
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do –
determined to save
the only life you could save.”
[Cue "Super-cali-fragi-listic-expi-ali-docious" by the marching band outside.]
Siren Call: Update
I am beyond thrilled to announce that the donations for Wrap Up Africa have now gone above and beyond our goal of $5500. Each time I have checked the status this week as I've traveled around Europe my jaw has dropped. What incredibly generosity and kindness…what an extraordinary effort to witness. I have seen this generosity throughout the blogosphere time and time again over the past few years, but this is the first time I have played any kind of direct role in fundraising. But I say that and I really don't mean it – posting a blog entry was such a small thing – an indirect role, really. The real leader here is Letha Sandison, who created Wrap Up Africa in the first place and works tirelessly to not simply keep her vision moving forward, but soaring to extraordinary heights.
Wrap Up Africa now has what it needs to move into their new space in Uganda, but any additional donations will certainly be appreciated. All donations through this Friday, April 30th will be included in my give-aways, and I will announce the winners early next week. If you donated through blog posts over at Marianne Elliott, Leana May – or anywhere else for that matter – you'll be entered for the give aways! Head here to read all the details and make a contribution.
Letha has promised to send photos of the new space, so stay tuned to see what you helped accomplish!
Berlin
[Statues at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Memorial Church, my first official stop today.]
If Amsterdam and I had a mad, weekend-long love affair, then Berlin and I are taking our time getting to know one another. You know, starting with coffee and taking it step by step from there. Details such as days of the week and weather have a lot to do with this, as I was in Amsterdam from Saturday afternoon to Monday morning – each day filled with blue skies and sunshine – and arrived to gray skies and rain Monday afternoon in Berlin. My husband had to race to a meeting right away, so I spent my first hour staying fairly close to our hotel on foot, walking with an umbrella and taking pictures with my iPhone. (Speaking of which – my iPhone Hipstamatic shots have turned out great here in Berlin, but I'll have to post those images later since my husband got dibs on the charger and he's off in another country at the moment.) Yesterday – my first day – I was feeling overwhelmed by Berlin, and how BIG it felt compared to Amsterdam.
[Book and typewriter installation near a used bookstore on Graefestrasse. Why did I go to that particular street? To go to Kado - a tiny shop devoted entirely to licorice.]
Amsterdam is tall, narrow buildings that are actually sometimes crooked because they exist on canals, and there are little shops and cafes all over the place. It feels cozy and inviting. Berlin is big columns with big statues on top, the great big Brandenburg Gate, and big, solid buildings that look like they grew from the concrete beneath them. This isn't to say my first impressions have been unpleasant, it is that I had to adjust to the contrast and an entirely different approach to seeing and experiencing the city.
[Near Graefestrasse.]
I was thrilled when I woke up this morning and saw clear skies. Exploring in the rain would not have been a complete disaster, but it would have made taking pictures a bit difficult. I headed out in the morning, and after a very kind woman helped me procure an all-day U-Bahn ticket, I headed to the Kaiser-Wilhelm Memorial Church (pictured above). A quick & dirty re-cap of my day after that: Took the train to Graefestrasse in order to find Kado (found it – bought some licorice treats), and had lunch at a teeny cafe nearby. From there I went to catch another train, and as I was heading to the station I got sidetracked by an amazing
open air market with a lot of Turkish shoppers (there is a significant Turkish population in Berlin, which I did not know about until I first started researching Berlin.) The market had
everything from fabrics to jewelry to cheeses to huge stacks of grape
leaves, but the best part was the people watching. (Those pictures are on my phone – I'll post them soon!)
[View from the Berlin TV Tower, one of today's happy distractions.]
I finally got on my train, and upon exiting the station, found myself staring at the Berlin TV Tower, which I had seen from a distance here and there throughout the city. And then I thought to myself, "What's this? I can go up there? Excellent!" and off I went, enjoying a 360-degree view of Berlin.
[See the heart in the field?]
After this, I walked to the DDR Museum. This was fascinating - it is a small, interactive museum that showed what everyday life was like for East Germans when the wall (as in – The Wall) was still up. Visitors open drawers and cabinets to see examples of clothing, toys, books and other household items and there are descriptions of almost every aspect of the day-to-day experiences of East Germans at each display. The weirdest part? That this was still going on in the 80s - which is actually not so long ago.
[Feet shot!]
After the museum, I found a tiny bakery where I enjoyed a cappucino and cherry streusal – yum – before heading back to my hotel. I think that is going to end up being my dinner, as I'm camped out in my room, probably not far away from sleep (and amazingly, not hungry, which just seems wrong.)
Today's wandering – which took me all over the city – reminded me of my backpacking trips around Europe right after college. I remember arriving in a new city by train, hunting down the best hostels, grabbing a croissant or loaf of bread, and doing my best to see and do as much as possible at every location. Today I wasn't on a particularly hell-bent mission to tackle every corner of Berlin, but I got to experience what I love most about these days when I can wander without an itinerary – moments when I turn a corner or exit a train station and see something I didn't expect and decide in that instant to go check it out. There were other sights I saw today that I haven't even mentioned yet, and they all happened that way – happenstance, or to put it another way, perfectly.
[Kids chasing bubbles in front of the Brandenburg Gate - pretty much in the exact spot where The Wall used to be. What else is close by? A Starbucks, of course.]
And tomorrow? Tomorrow is still holding its surprises for me.
Well I’ll Be AmsterDamned
See – I didn't just make that up – it's a cafe!
I could have photographed this dog all day.
I love that picture in the window.
The obligatory feet shot.
The flowers were in bloom all over.
Canal traffic jam.
They really need to learn how to lighten up around here.
I have many more photos which will be posted when I return home. A good majority of the pictures I've taken so far were shot this afternoon as my husband and I sat at a cafe and watched all the boats go by. We heard a lot of techno music, inhaled some gas fumes, and witnessed a number of bona fide canal traffic jams. Boats went by with big groups and small groups, carrying mopeds, bicycles, amps (to blare the techno music), dogs, babies, and plenty of wine and picnic food. I kept wanting to jump onto one of the boats and join the fun, and something tells me it would have been totally OK to be a party crasher (literally).
Next up: Berlin!
Love Letter to Amsterdam
Dear Amsterdam…I have been here only just over 24 hours and what can I say? I’m already madly in love with you! OK, so maybe I lucked out with beautiful weather, and I’m also here on a weekend, but still, I cannot help but gush.
Our hotel is close to the Red Light District, so from there we have taken our time walking to the Anne Frank House, the Flower Market and, today, the Van Gogh Museum. There are people everywhere – cafes are full, narrow streets are crowded, bicycles are whizzing by, and the canals have oodles of boats filled with revelers of all kinds.
The atmosphere is friendly in a whoop-it-up-let’s-party kind of way, and as I stroll around I find it hard to believe I didn’t make it here on the two big backpacking trips I took to Europe right afte college. Then again, I might have had a little bit too much fun had I been here in my early 20s, so perhaps it was for the best.
In any case, I’m in love with you now, and I’m so grateful to have shared this time with you. Tomorrow I am on flight number two of the five I’ll be taking on this trip – headed to Berlin – but please know I will be leaving with a smile on my face.
Yours forever, Christine
100 Books Project :: Sedona, Arizona
[Book #49, left in Sedona, Arizona by Book Fairy Christine Tenenholtz.]
With Book #49, we've made contact! Book Fairy Christine
Tenenholtz left Book #49 at the "Birthing Cave" in Sedona, Arizona on Easter Sunday and a few days later I received an email from Gloria Ortega, who found the book (and is now going to be a Book Fairy herself!) Here is part of Christine's story:
"Easter Sunday dawned bright, sunny and warm and after a lovely lunch with my boy and my sweetie (that involved a bit of chocolate bunny beheading) we discussed going for a hike. My son chimed in, "let's go to Mezcal Mountain!" out of the blue and I know right then that's where I should take the book. There is a cave there, known to us locals as 'The Birthing Cave'.
The cave itself is more beautiful than I remembered and in the years since my last visit, some folks set up a rock altar in the spot where there had been a fire pit, and it was covered with all sorts of offerings, notes and trinkets of all kinds: Dollar bills, coins, jewelry, shells, stones. I got a rush of emotion, knowing this place would be perfect for Christine's book and hopefully someone would discover it in a really reverent kind of way and listen with their heart. Actually, I had no doubt that whoever found it would be in the right frame of mind to really 'get' it. I was super stoked. I placed the book just outside the main altar so someone could see clearly that it was not meant to be left as an offering, but to be taken as a gift. And as the three of us hung out in this beautiful natural cave, I noticed it seemed we were all positively 'bouyant' with glee.
I don't know if it was because it was a gorgeous Spring day, or we were all just high on the joy of being in the great outdoors or that it was because we were accomplices in working a little magic for someone…I said a little prayer for the book's recipient to be blessed by the experience and we went back on down to the main trail."
Less than a week later, I received this email:
"Hello Christine,
My name is Gloria Ortega, and I found your book in Sedona, Arizona the day after Easter. I took a hike up to Mezcal Mountain, praying the whole way up about what I needed to do with my life. I'm a beautician and astrologer, also cashiering at New Frontiers health food store. I was trying to decide whether to go to the birthing cave or on up to the council circle where the ruins are. I chose the birthing cave, needing some answers as to why I'm at this point in my life. I sat at the cave and was journeying into a juniper tree that gave me some shade, when I spotted your package at the alter.
I saw the message 'This gift is for you', but I ignored it. Then 'Yes, YOU' caught my attention, so I opened it and read the whole book as I sat there. It gave the best answers – my spirit knows I need answers in writing at times like this, so my prayers had been answered with a quick reading of a lovely book left there just for me.
I was slipping it back into the envelope for someone else to enjoy, but then loud and clear I saw the note with your e-mail and wanted to let you know how it touched my life, so I brought it home. My roommate read it too, and was so inspired she sat up all night setting up a new webpage for a business we have been trying to get off the ground called Land of the Sacred – a hiking and retreat center to teach people about the land, plants, animals and shamanic ways to connect to Mother Earth. We got it done and we're on our way with lots of new ideas; your book moved us both.
Thank you for your words of wisdom and for leaving the book. After e-mailing you I will return it to the birthing cave for someone else to enjoy. ~Gloria Ortega, LandoftheSacred.com"
I talked Gloria into keeping the book for herself by enlisting her as a Book Fairy, so stay tuned for the next chapter of this 100 Books Story. In the meantime, head over to Christine's site for more details about her Book Fairy adventure, more photos and a link to Red Hot Pottery – her lovely Etsy shop. Thank you Christine!!
Five Things
1. Head over to the Rockywold Deephaven Camps' website for a chance to win a week's vacation! P.S. This is the home of Squam Art Workshops.
2. Marianne Elliott has just launched her new website – go see all the great projects she's working on and how you can bask in her inspiring glow.
3. I posted this on Twitter, and love it so much I want to share it again here: Michael Demeng's The Artistic Timeline.
4. And another new website!! Tara Bradford Photography – tell me her photos don't make you want to wander all over the globe.
5. Your help is still needed for Wrap Up Africa!! And I have three great giveaways to sweeten the act of giving right here. Please spread the word!
Taking Off
I feel like I should say I've been on pins and needles all week, wondering if our trip to Europe was going to happen, but as soon the stories of Eyjafjallajokull (don't you just love that name?) started filling the headlines, I immediately started getting used to the idea of staying put and having a wide open week in my studio. I didn't pack, didn't wonder, didn't worry, didn't really think about it, until my husband came home Wednesday evening and said, "Looks like we're headed across the Atlantic."
I leave this afternoon on what is going to be a whirlwind of a trip that will take me to Amsterdam, Berlin and Copenhagen – three cities I have never visited and am eager to explore. I am tagging along with my husband on a business trip, so part of my experience there will be getting us settled into each hotel, and, yes, carting around our big suitcase from hotels to airports and so on since he will have to meet me here and there. Because I haven't given this trip a whole lot of thought this week, I literally do not have a single plan for this journey – I have no guidebooks, no plans, nothing more than advice and suggestions offered to me in emails and on websites, printed out on a stack of papers I'll be reading on the flight.
Actually, that isn't entirely true. One of the suggestions someone gave me for Berlin was a shop entirely devoted to licorice. I am definitely checking that out; otherwise Berlin – and Amsterdam and Copenhagen – are all blank slates. How exciting is that? So much awaits me, and I have no idea what it is. That is my favorite way to travel.
I'm taking a laptop with me this time around and will be posting photos throughout the week. I have one entry for The 100 Books Project scheduled to go up over the weekend (this is one of my favorite stories yet), and then next week updates from Europe!
“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” ~Martin Buber
