A New Iteration

This morning when I walked I was greeted by a sky laced with orange wispy clouds.  I’ve anticipated this day for months.  In early spring I heard about a two-week trip to Bhutan organized by a group from California.  I was eager to go on the trip and applied.  Initially I was not selected.  I was disappointed, but accepted the decision, thinking it just wasn’t meant to be for me.  I completely let it go.  

On July 13, my granddaughter, Grace, fell to her death in a hiking accident at Yosemite.  Devastated and heartbroken, five days later I traveled to Nebraska for my last visit with my 99-year-old dad.  One afternoon, after spending hours going through old photos at my parents’ house, I felt an immense heaviness due to everything I was being asked to let go of.  I got in my car to leave the house and checked my emails.  In the midst of all the sorrow and loss was a message that said someone had to cancel going on the trip.  The sender was asking if I’d like to go to Bhutan.  After a few quick calls, I said yes. Tonight I leave for San Francisco, then will catch a 1:00am flight to Tai Pei, Taiwan and on to Bangkok, Thailand.  There I’ll meet up with the rest of the group to travel on the 25th to Paro, Bhutan.  I know it will be a journey of a lifetime, and it will also be a time of healing, a time of discovering a new version of myself. 

Leaving for this trip means I will miss the Seed’s fall festival, which will be a significant event.  It’s the new iteration of a long standing Seed tradition, our Halloween carnival.  It will be smaller and less complicated, which will make it easier on everyone involved.  It will be different from the carnival in many ways, most importantly the focus is on community building rather than fundraising.  Its emphasis will be on inclusion and celebration of this core value at the Seed.  A most heartfelt thanks ahead of time to our incredible group of parent organizers who are bringing back a new version of the carnival. It’s a season for new beginnings on many levels, which will bring forth the next expression of who we are in the world.  

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