A Priceless Gift

This past week at work I had the privilege of providing two Japanese ladies, mother and daughter, with foot reflexology. As "Mom" could understand very little English it was left to her daughter to act as our interpreter. Accordingly, the three of us adjourned to a room in the spa where we our visit unfolded in beautiful and unexpected ways. Mari (the daughter) went first and made several comments during her session about how great it felt while Haruko (Mom) waited quietly for her turn. When Haruko got on the table, she too remarked about how excellent the care was...that I knew just the right way and areas for the best care. Mari then informed me that her mother was, among other things, a shiatsu practitioner. Now here is a woman who is, in a very real sense, my colleague...with a lot more experience than me...and going on and on about how great my care is. Talk about validating, :-). Mari and I also chatted about Don having graduated highschool in northern Japan and his experiences there and the resulting broadening of his cultural horizons including, Iron Chef...a show we watch as often as possible. At the mention of the show she lit up and said, "We LOVE Iron Chef!" Needless to say, the three of us sort of insta-bonded due to all these common threads. At the end of Haruko's session she stated that she wished to give me something. I smiled politely and waited...not really having any idea of what to expect. She dug through her purse and finally produced a beautiful antique fan with finely polished cherry wood ends which she then presented with a broad and generous smile. I was honored, grateful, and floored all in an instant. Before they left, Haruko insisted that she have her photo taken with me. Afterward, I quickly retreated back into the room where we had worked and very nearly wept with gratitude. I was SO moved by her gift of such magnanimous generosity! That was how my day began and frankly...if I had had no other appointments that day I would have been all set. Talk about blessed!

Osmotic Corruption

Well it has finally happened...the dark, evil, and twisted entity known as Don's mind has wended its way into my dreamtime. One night recently, I had a most, um, "unusual dream." I found myself in front of a square-looking building about three or four stories high which had a, shall we say "unique" function and purpose. As it turned out, all these people were inside living it up with cocktails, fun music, and enjoying all this in the ambience of a costume shop. That's right..a costume shop. Who'dathunk, right? A combo nightclub and costume shop? Ahhhhh, but there's more. The name of the place was the dead giveaway that all this was the influence of Don's mind...now invading the frontiers of MY dreamtime...yeeshk. The name, you ask? Are you sitting down...cocktail in hand? Here it is the..."The Douche Bag." There was even a marquis outside the building on a high metal pole for all the world to see...complete with a sort of art deco rendition of a douch bag along with the name in a stylized font. Just the right mix of swank and dark humor which I would expect from this man I am so crazy about, ;-). Go figure.

Pagan Hiking

Today we made our second visit of many to come to a HUGE nature preserve not far from our home overlooking the Boston area. This pristine appearing area, known as the Middlesex Fells Reservation, spans over 2500 acres of heavily forested land with rocky outcroppings, great hiking and biking trails, reservoirs, and vantage points from which to view Boston and the surrounding area. I discovered and initially explored the Reservation a few weeks ago when I found it on one of our biking trail maps. During our first visit there, we encountered a variety of things including, magnificent fern beds, tree spirits, and a carefully constructed stone spiral at the top of one of the many ridges in the Reservation. The spiral was probably the most enjoyable site of our first visit and we knew from the way it was made that Pagans had been the ones to build it. The sense of respect for the Earth, the careful attention to the placing of the stones in such a precise manner, and the complete absence of any litter were strong indicators that the spiral had been made for a sacred purpose and not merely built on a whim.
Today's venture was in an entirely different area of the Reservation which led us through new vistas of exercise and viewing pleasure. As we huffed and puffed our way along we couldn't help but feel so at home in this place. We even found a stone cairn/altar which someone had left in plain view along the trail to which we lovingly added stones of our own selected from the immediate area. At one point, I remarked to Don, "You know we're not alone, don't you?" He replied, "Oh yes!" Both of us could feel the presence of the elementals and spirits present around and with us...providing a sense of encouragement and almost amusement at our trek through their domain. It was a great feeling! And while we kept open to the possibility of discovering something which we would be allowed to take home with us, we also felt no sense of obligation other than to respect the forest and all its inhabitants. We returned empty-handed but with hearts full of joy and contentment at this new venue in which we can learn and grow.