Awakening and Opening

Home is oneness, home is my original nature. It is right here, simply in what is. There is nowhere else I have to go, and nothing else I have to become. Tony Parsons

I've been absent from here for so long! I believe I have gone through a period of doing my "work" with emotions and physical action rather than words. My physical condition has deteriorated significantly. There has been pain, both in body and mind, as well as goodbyes a-plenty.

A new plan has evolved with my move to Knollwood Place. I will be relocating as soon as an apartment becomes available, probably sometime between September and November. A handyman will then come in to do the necessary repairs and renovation here, and my condo will go on the market. This plan was developed by my nephew, the realtor, as a way to avoid my having to stumble through the work-in-progress that my place will be.

My "downsizing" is proceeding in earnest, and I am humbly accepting the help of some good friends. My participation in the process must be strictly limited to sorting through a few boxes while giving instructions of "keep" or "that goes". I sometimes feel a curious vulnerability when allowing these trusted folks into the dusty minutiae of my personal belongings.

I said goodbye to my beloved therapist when she retired on May 31st. Of course it was a wrenching experience. However, there is strong potential for a deep and satisfying relationship with my new therapist, Patricia. She is a Buddhist, and our work will be both therapy and spiritual teaching.

She has already connected me with a local practitioner who teaches the program outlined in Jon Kabat-Zinn's Full-Catastrophe Living (linked). It was featured in Bill Moyers' Healing and the Mind. It is designed to help one deal with stress and pain without medication. I am already enrolled in the eight-week program beginning in September.

I just continue to breathe in, breathe out, let go and accept. Link