Another Life

“It’s like you’re living in an alternate universe,” my dad says, our Facetime session connecting England and Alabama.

I was trying to describe this experience, and finding it hard to grasp some sort of storyline; choose something consistent to follow as I explained how the adventure’s unfolding. It feels as though there’s so much going on in so many areas. It’s a real challenge to focus on one specific part.

First, there’s the adventure that comes with moving around, seeing all these places for the first time.

I’m in Hill City, Kansas one moment, trembling and feeling powerless as this dark formidable thing (I now know was a supercell) rumbles past.

Then, while doing yoga under the shade of a cottonwood tree I happen to look up during “Chakravakasana,” and see a four-foot-long snake inching its way up the trunk, directly above me.

I feel a tingle down my spine – definitely not yoga related – and hastily roll up the mat and dash back to the trailer. I can’t shake the image of how it’s moving up the tree, seeking out the cracks in between the thick bark for stability. I don’t know how or IF I’d have recovered had it lost its… grip, is it? Came tumbling down – twisting and writhing as it fell – landing on top of me as I struggled to ‘breathe through the discomfort… hold your pose no matter what…’

Then we’re on the deck at Chad’s friend’s place in Lawrence, Kansas. His wife greets me with a chilled Vino Verde, ice cubes tinkling in the glass. Dinner is set outside on a table with a red and white checkered tablecloth. It’s taco night, and she’s made all sorts of fresh delicious sauces sitting in little glass jars, waiting for me to spoon onto the tacos.

The taco shell she’s fried has just the right amount of crunch. The balance of lime, cilantro and garlic superb. Fireflies flicker in the stubble of the recently harvested corn, giving the field an ethereal appearance as it twinkles and glitters.

Next I’m in Arkansas. Pulling a Lone Star tick out of my hip before going into Little Rock for some sightseeing, and a basket of onion strings and veggie tempura tacos in a dimly lit restaurant.

Then there’s the emotional experience. Things are shifting, changing, and haven’t quite settled yet, so if I were to report on it now, I’d say… what? I’ll get back to you? I can do better than that.

I think the easiest way of describing it is, it feels as though my feelings are beginning to thaw. The old routine had dulled me down so much. I’d pushed past what was comfortable in that area, and was bored, uninspired, and exhausted. As a consequence, a last-ditch effort for self-preservation perhaps, many feelings had fled.

So, it’s like a big chaotic family reunion as they reappear. Think huge get-together with all sorts of plates of food and wine, dirty dishes and creative sleeping arrangements.

“Hey there, Inspiration. So good to see you! There’s a chair next to Chaos…Organization was sitting there, but she’s exhausted and disappeared…”

We’ve been on the road two months now. With everything we’ve managed to cram in, it feels like years.

We’re enjoying time with family in Alabama right now, and it’s nice to slow down and catch our breath. It can feel a little hectic when you’ve got experiences piled on top of one another, and don’t have time to really process or make sense of them because they keep coming.

There are still times though where I’m almost brought to tears. How easily I could have missed this opportunity, I think. Life could have continued, just as it was, had I not had the courage (or stupidity, depending on your perspective) to just go for it.

I’m so happy to be alive.