Oh gosh, Janisse .. first of all, I'm so sorry about Raven and hope he's feeling better soon. And so sorry you're missing the yoga retreat -- but that in itself is such a yogic teaching, I'd imagine. The yielding to impermanence, and practicing non-attachment. And it sounds like you're handling that with grace. Beautiful! Re: place and travel and home, as you know I've recently settled into what I hope will be my last home, near where I was born. We now have the freedom and means to travel anywhere/everywhere, but we've decided to do our journeying here. The journey of getting to know this spot on Earth, and taking care of it. A lot of that inspired by you, by the way. Thank you, with a bow. 🙏🏽
I do believe that Tuscany doesn't compare to south Georgia in your eyes. Not long after we moved from the suburbs of Chicago to Southwest Virginia an acquaintance said that as far as he was concerned, this part of Virginia (the highlands of the Blue Ridge Mountains) and Northeast Tennessee were the Tuscany of the South. But then you know how beautiful it can be. My husband has more of the travel bug than I do, and we have a running argument that goes, "We really do live in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. (me) "There are other beautiful places . . ." (him) I really have tried (and for the most part succeeded) in living deeply in place. Not that I don't enjoy seeing other places. But I have, in recent years, bowed to the fact that travel - especially by air - isn't all that good for the climate. I have consoled myself knowing that you have abstained from air travel for the same reason. Ironically, on the top of my list, if I were to go anywhere by plane today, it would be Italy. Not to Tuscany, but to Abruzzo and Sicily. What I have learned recently is that the history of Abruzzo has some uncanny resonance with the history of Appalachia. Many of the Italian immigrants to Appalachia came from that part of Italy. It has to do with land and who has the right to determine whether or not people thrive or have the ability to do so taken from them. For me, I would find the opportunity to explore the shared history fascinating. But after living 27 years in Virginia, I have a resonance with this place that I think would be impossible to ever experience anywhere else. For Italy to resonate with me in the same way as the place I call home does, would take a long time. So I think I would experience Italy with some sadness and, perhaps, a bit of longing. I would know that I could never know it fully and it would pale in comparison to what I already "have." Which I guess is just another way of clicking those ruby-colored heels and saying "There's no place like home. There's no place like home." But there really is no place like home.
I’m not surprised you’re not feeling up to exploring Tuscany. You’ve seen a lot of ancient landscapes in your life and exploring sights & sounds is not what you came for. You came to see you.
I am so sorry about Raven's having Covid and I pray that heals soon. Home. When after nurturing a piece of land for so many years, you become a part of it and then it nurtures you. Being isolated means that you rely upon your contact with the earth beneath your feet. I am sure that during your time in Tuscany, you will discover some universal connection between your dirt and the one you now stand on. Or perhaps the universal will be the local people you are meeting....or hopefully will meet. My brother-in-law constantly berates me for not traveling more, but as I often say: "I live where other people come for a vacation. Why would I want to leave one of the most beautiful places on earth?" My land and my trees understand me. Sending you a hug, Joan Donaldson
You’re not as enchanted by Tuscany as you are by Georgia because you’re much like me, deeply rooted here in Georgia. As much as I can appreciate the beauty & history there, all I would hear in my head are Dorothy’s words, “There’s no place like home.”
So very sorry about the Covid. In 2019 I went to Cortona, Italy with UGA students as a student for 8 weeks. Except for Cortona, Siena was my absolute favorite place. I'm not even sure why. I hope you can relax and enjoy as much time as possible drinking in the beauty of Italy, even those parts that can't possibly compete with Georgia!
"Should" is a negator of feeling. Asana is only one type of yoga practice. There is also the yoga of service and the yoga of being present to everyday life. Maybe feelings of duty are getting in the way of being open to what Tuscany offers -- not what you expected, but certainly it will have something for you. I almost typed "simply being open" -- but we all know it isn't that easy: too much noise, too much monkey mind or superego, too much baggage from the past and fantasy about the future.
Sorry about the curve ball, but I am sure you both will make the best of it. Melissa and I left on a months planned for trip to Alaska to voyage down the Inner Passage and kayak in several locations. We thought we had dodged Idalia and the big COVID upsurge. I got COVID on the flight out of town. Then Melissa got it. All our plans became more solo adventures...not a bad thing. Then a thief broke the window of our rental car and stole Melissa's backpack with passport, IDs, etc. An adventurous day in Vancouver at the US Consulate and gratefulness we had bought a decent trip insurance brought us home a day later. Now time to recover. I hope you all find the hidden riches in your adventure. We did. Trust and Patience are treasures that outlast pocketbooks!
When you are in love with where you live, everything always pales by comparison. I think that is the key though, eliminate the comparison and just appreciate it for being different. I experienced the same thing last year in France. Once I just let the differences wash over me I felt much better. I'm so sorry about your retreat. Covid is no fun. Here is hoping you don't catch it and Raven has some watercolors to at least paint the view from his window.
First, I’m so sorry Raven got Covid and hope he’s well soon and you and Silas stay well! Once we were on a trip to New Zealand for an extended time, far from our coastal NC home. I came down with a terrible flu the first weekend we arrived in Auckland, my husband a few days later and we both ended up with a debilitating bronchitis for the first four weeks of our travels. It can be especially miserable to be away from home, unwell and unable to fully immerse yourself in your new surroundings. Many prayers for each of you!
Having both read quite a bit of your work and spent a fair amount of time in Tuscany, I’m thinking the main reason you’re not terribly enamored with it is because, although isolated, you live such a fulfilling life at home in GA, a place that truly feeds your heart and soul and even make them sing.
Even so a journey is refreshing and the retreat itinerary you described, one I’ve been attracted to as well, would seem like a perfect way to unwind and recharge.
Life is full of curve balls though and it appears the “powers that be” have something else in store for you. I’m sure something beautiful and good, a valuable lesson will come from your time there and I hope you’ll share it with us.
We traveled to many destinations for about 10 years before Covid first came on the scene in 2020. It was wonderful, it awakened my senses, It was educational, it was healing, it helped me to see others and to understand the world around me in irreplaceable ways. I do hope you’ll be able to enjoy yourself while there.
At the very least we know that “distance makes the heart grow fonder” and you’ll return home loving your place, your land, the life you have created there even more than we can imagine.
I used to go to a lot of meetings further away from home than my radio presets would reach.
(I only have radio audio)
As I moved down Florida or up to GA and AL, I'd find new stations of interest.
A few I liked, maybe more I didn't.
On the way home, my usual presets would come back, but I didn't hear them through the same memories.
There was enough dissonance to make me more deeply aware of the layers of life at home.
I always opened with that thought when I was a speaker or session moderator at meetings.
I know the depth that comes from knowing home so well you can feel it and smell it;
See it with your eyes closed.
It's comforting and provides limitless complexity to investigate and describe, but I tend to let the layers of time and sediment cover me at the bottom of the pond.
It's important for me to move out of that, at least for a while, even if the layers return to covering me.
Soon after our 1979 wedding, my new husband & I left the US for an extended stay in France. We’d saved for two years, and had arranged three different places to live. A friend there helped us buy a car. We spent a memorable 10 months exploring mostly France, and returned with a couple of enduring friendships. My biggest insight while in France: this country (our US of A) has much to offer that is unexperienced... it would have been simpler to remain here, immersed in a familiar language, currency, and culture, but with an extended remove from whatever other familiarities we were ‘escaping.’ Your trip to Tuscany is shorter, so tough to say whether my insight (which occurred after a few weeks in Europe) has a parallel within yours. European culture is western but very different. Back then I was naive and a bit dense to subtleties, but I observed that the different nationalities frankly didn’t really like each other. Also, they didn’t like Americans very much.
One final vignette: I had a moment many years ago when I impulsively planned to visit my European friends for a long weekend. I would take the Concorde to get there... of course I couldn’t go (kids, life, $, etc) but the plan reflected my stress level at the time-- I would go very far, very fast, and it would cost a LOT!! Not intending to turn the convo to myself, but illustrating some insights I gained about traveling 💖
just fyi - your website doesn't seem to be working for sign ups. I get an error page whenever I click on any of your available offerings....hope Raven isn't too sick and that you get spared. Everyone is getting it again around here and some are having it rougher than in the past.
Oh gosh, Janisse .. first of all, I'm so sorry about Raven and hope he's feeling better soon. And so sorry you're missing the yoga retreat -- but that in itself is such a yogic teaching, I'd imagine. The yielding to impermanence, and practicing non-attachment. And it sounds like you're handling that with grace. Beautiful! Re: place and travel and home, as you know I've recently settled into what I hope will be my last home, near where I was born. We now have the freedom and means to travel anywhere/everywhere, but we've decided to do our journeying here. The journey of getting to know this spot on Earth, and taking care of it. A lot of that inspired by you, by the way. Thank you, with a bow. 🙏🏽
I do believe that Tuscany doesn't compare to south Georgia in your eyes. Not long after we moved from the suburbs of Chicago to Southwest Virginia an acquaintance said that as far as he was concerned, this part of Virginia (the highlands of the Blue Ridge Mountains) and Northeast Tennessee were the Tuscany of the South. But then you know how beautiful it can be. My husband has more of the travel bug than I do, and we have a running argument that goes, "We really do live in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. (me) "There are other beautiful places . . ." (him) I really have tried (and for the most part succeeded) in living deeply in place. Not that I don't enjoy seeing other places. But I have, in recent years, bowed to the fact that travel - especially by air - isn't all that good for the climate. I have consoled myself knowing that you have abstained from air travel for the same reason. Ironically, on the top of my list, if I were to go anywhere by plane today, it would be Italy. Not to Tuscany, but to Abruzzo and Sicily. What I have learned recently is that the history of Abruzzo has some uncanny resonance with the history of Appalachia. Many of the Italian immigrants to Appalachia came from that part of Italy. It has to do with land and who has the right to determine whether or not people thrive or have the ability to do so taken from them. For me, I would find the opportunity to explore the shared history fascinating. But after living 27 years in Virginia, I have a resonance with this place that I think would be impossible to ever experience anywhere else. For Italy to resonate with me in the same way as the place I call home does, would take a long time. So I think I would experience Italy with some sadness and, perhaps, a bit of longing. I would know that I could never know it fully and it would pale in comparison to what I already "have." Which I guess is just another way of clicking those ruby-colored heels and saying "There's no place like home. There's no place like home." But there really is no place like home.
Deborah! How fun to see your name here. Your farm is also a special, magical place. Joan D
Beautiful ... I 100% agree.
I’m not surprised you’re not feeling up to exploring Tuscany. You’ve seen a lot of ancient landscapes in your life and exploring sights & sounds is not what you came for. You came to see you.
I am so sorry about Raven's having Covid and I pray that heals soon. Home. When after nurturing a piece of land for so many years, you become a part of it and then it nurtures you. Being isolated means that you rely upon your contact with the earth beneath your feet. I am sure that during your time in Tuscany, you will discover some universal connection between your dirt and the one you now stand on. Or perhaps the universal will be the local people you are meeting....or hopefully will meet. My brother-in-law constantly berates me for not traveling more, but as I often say: "I live where other people come for a vacation. Why would I want to leave one of the most beautiful places on earth?" My land and my trees understand me. Sending you a hug, Joan Donaldson
You’re not as enchanted by Tuscany as you are by Georgia because you’re much like me, deeply rooted here in Georgia. As much as I can appreciate the beauty & history there, all I would hear in my head are Dorothy’s words, “There’s no place like home.”
So very sorry about the Covid. In 2019 I went to Cortona, Italy with UGA students as a student for 8 weeks. Except for Cortona, Siena was my absolute favorite place. I'm not even sure why. I hope you can relax and enjoy as much time as possible drinking in the beauty of Italy, even those parts that can't possibly compete with Georgia!
"Should" is a negator of feeling. Asana is only one type of yoga practice. There is also the yoga of service and the yoga of being present to everyday life. Maybe feelings of duty are getting in the way of being open to what Tuscany offers -- not what you expected, but certainly it will have something for you. I almost typed "simply being open" -- but we all know it isn't that easy: too much noise, too much monkey mind or superego, too much baggage from the past and fantasy about the future.
Sorry about the curve ball, but I am sure you both will make the best of it. Melissa and I left on a months planned for trip to Alaska to voyage down the Inner Passage and kayak in several locations. We thought we had dodged Idalia and the big COVID upsurge. I got COVID on the flight out of town. Then Melissa got it. All our plans became more solo adventures...not a bad thing. Then a thief broke the window of our rental car and stole Melissa's backpack with passport, IDs, etc. An adventurous day in Vancouver at the US Consulate and gratefulness we had bought a decent trip insurance brought us home a day later. Now time to recover. I hope you all find the hidden riches in your adventure. We did. Trust and Patience are treasures that outlast pocketbooks!
When you are in love with where you live, everything always pales by comparison. I think that is the key though, eliminate the comparison and just appreciate it for being different. I experienced the same thing last year in France. Once I just let the differences wash over me I felt much better. I'm so sorry about your retreat. Covid is no fun. Here is hoping you don't catch it and Raven has some watercolors to at least paint the view from his window.
Janisse,
First, I’m so sorry Raven got Covid and hope he’s well soon and you and Silas stay well! Once we were on a trip to New Zealand for an extended time, far from our coastal NC home. I came down with a terrible flu the first weekend we arrived in Auckland, my husband a few days later and we both ended up with a debilitating bronchitis for the first four weeks of our travels. It can be especially miserable to be away from home, unwell and unable to fully immerse yourself in your new surroundings. Many prayers for each of you!
Having both read quite a bit of your work and spent a fair amount of time in Tuscany, I’m thinking the main reason you’re not terribly enamored with it is because, although isolated, you live such a fulfilling life at home in GA, a place that truly feeds your heart and soul and even make them sing.
Even so a journey is refreshing and the retreat itinerary you described, one I’ve been attracted to as well, would seem like a perfect way to unwind and recharge.
Life is full of curve balls though and it appears the “powers that be” have something else in store for you. I’m sure something beautiful and good, a valuable lesson will come from your time there and I hope you’ll share it with us.
We traveled to many destinations for about 10 years before Covid first came on the scene in 2020. It was wonderful, it awakened my senses, It was educational, it was healing, it helped me to see others and to understand the world around me in irreplaceable ways. I do hope you’ll be able to enjoy yourself while there.
At the very least we know that “distance makes the heart grow fonder” and you’ll return home loving your place, your land, the life you have created there even more than we can imagine.
Safe travels Janisse! 🙏🌻🙏🌻🙏
I used to go to a lot of meetings further away from home than my radio presets would reach.
(I only have radio audio)
As I moved down Florida or up to GA and AL, I'd find new stations of interest.
A few I liked, maybe more I didn't.
On the way home, my usual presets would come back, but I didn't hear them through the same memories.
There was enough dissonance to make me more deeply aware of the layers of life at home.
I always opened with that thought when I was a speaker or session moderator at meetings.
I know the depth that comes from knowing home so well you can feel it and smell it;
See it with your eyes closed.
It's comforting and provides limitless complexity to investigate and describe, but I tend to let the layers of time and sediment cover me at the bottom of the pond.
It's important for me to move out of that, at least for a while, even if the layers return to covering me.
Soon after our 1979 wedding, my new husband & I left the US for an extended stay in France. We’d saved for two years, and had arranged three different places to live. A friend there helped us buy a car. We spent a memorable 10 months exploring mostly France, and returned with a couple of enduring friendships. My biggest insight while in France: this country (our US of A) has much to offer that is unexperienced... it would have been simpler to remain here, immersed in a familiar language, currency, and culture, but with an extended remove from whatever other familiarities we were ‘escaping.’ Your trip to Tuscany is shorter, so tough to say whether my insight (which occurred after a few weeks in Europe) has a parallel within yours. European culture is western but very different. Back then I was naive and a bit dense to subtleties, but I observed that the different nationalities frankly didn’t really like each other. Also, they didn’t like Americans very much.
One final vignette: I had a moment many years ago when I impulsively planned to visit my European friends for a long weekend. I would take the Concorde to get there... of course I couldn’t go (kids, life, $, etc) but the plan reflected my stress level at the time-- I would go very far, very fast, and it would cost a LOT!! Not intending to turn the convo to myself, but illustrating some insights I gained about traveling 💖
just fyi - your website doesn't seem to be working for sign ups. I get an error page whenever I click on any of your available offerings....hope Raven isn't too sick and that you get spared. Everyone is getting it again around here and some are having it rougher than in the past.