It has been quite a while since I have written a blog post. Life has been full of living and doing, all in a joyful spirit. My days have been full of riding, seeing new chunks of the world and in getting to know new people who I have met on this ride to Texas.
I am sitting in the living room of my new friend Ed’s house in San Benito, Tx. He is a wonderful Christian man who shares many interests and spiritual beliefs with me. Our time on the ride has been delightful and now, before I begin the long solo trek to Canada next Sunday, we are spending time together deepening our friendship and living life as two retired, single bikers enjoying everyday as the gift it is.
A lot of transformational stuff has occurred during our ride to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and down to Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas. Riding for long stints on my Harley with only the wind and the iPod playlist in my ears, there is almost nothing but time to think and reflect on life, my continuing journey, my relationship with myself, and my relationships with others. And, standing beside a deep canyon, I hear the sounds of the desert; the soft wind, the sand moving, the birdcalls, and above them all the silence.
Standing in the midst of the awesome, expansive space of the southwest Texas desert, I thought about where I am. A taking of stock, as it were. The journey has brought me many joys, some sad moments and moments of self-doubt. I know now that I am ready to settle. I know where I want to settle and have started the process to be there. I have met and made many friends along the way and I will be near them. I am not in a relationship. I have met and spent time with women with whom, I felt a strong connection but alas, it was not mutual and reciprocal in a way that would endure. I have learned from these experiences.
I will continue to ride this summer while in Canada fulfilling my government-mandated time to retain my health benefits. During the summer I will visit friends and favorite place. I will revisit a favorite spot at McInnes Lake in the Petroglyphs Provincial Park where the silence is deep and profound in the sacred Ojibway lands. I loved to spend time hiking there and playing my native flutes standing on the rocky bluff above the lake. I will do this again.
In the late summer I will ride to areas of the USA that I have wanted to visit to meet FaceBook and BON friends before returning to Florida and the small town of Sebastian where I will drop my anchor and settle.
The ride home begins this weekend. I have a wedding to attend in San Antonio this weekend. I am looking forward to witnessing Sweetbear and EG’s (their BON names) marriage. I will also be meeting other friends that I have met virtually through BON but now, in person. There is one person I am really excited about meeting. We have corresponded for some time about my blogs, about life, about our individual dreams and hopes. The dialogue has been heartfelt and real. It has been so refreshing. And now, the opportunity to meet in person is at hand. How wonderful!!!
The recent ride was good for me. I am now m0re at peace with myself and I understand more than ever what I am looking for in a relationship and in my future life. I am also finding myself more connected to the Creator after listening to the wonderful silence of the desert. This is new after many years of neglect after a series of bad experiences with the rules of churches and religion that so occupied me that the value of the Word was overlooked, I have my new friend who I will be meeting and my friend Ed to thank for this re-awakening of this connection to my spiritual self.
From the last verse of the Van Morrison classic:
I wanna go out in the countryside
Oh sit by the clear, cool, crystal water
Get my spirit, way back to the feeling
Deep in my soul, I wanna feel
Oh so close to the One, close to the One
Close to the One, close to the One
And that's why, I keep on singing baby
My hymns to the silence, hymns to the silence
Oh my hymns to the silence, hymns to the silence
Oh hymns to the silence, oh hymns to the silence
Oh hymns to the silence, hymns to the silence
Oh my dear, my dear sweet love
Can you feel the silence? can you feel the silence?
Can you feel the silence? can you feel the silence?
Hymns to the silence, hymns to the silence
Hymns to the silence, hymns to the silence
Hymns to the silence, hymns to the silence
Hymns to the silence, hymns to the silence
From the playlist from the ride:
From the untitled book:
First light
Breaks softly pink
Across a clouded sky
Gentle breezes
Stir the palm trees
And fill my senses with promise
Tender thoughts
Fly the distance to your door
As love and hope quietly blossom in my heart
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