Traveling the Road of Spirituality
Canada Trip Recap
My partner and I went up to Canada, leaving our boys at their foster mama’s. They had a blast! Foster mama has two kids, and they kept the kittens so busy. I am so grateful for the free kitten-sitting. We came back Thursday. It is now Sunday as I write this, and Leo has only just forgiven me enough to snuggle. Really, he’s just jealous of the computer getting his attention.
Back to Canada! It was amazing. We were only there for 2 full days, but we fell in love with Vancouver and the people there. I feel like we Americans all know the stereotype of Canadians are so kind, but like… it’s so true. When we got up to Canada (after a SNAFU at the border), my phone service wasn’t working, and I had no idea how to get into the studio apartment we had booked. I was a mess. I was tired. I was stressed. I was desperate. My partner was a concierge at a fancy condo building for many years so he started trying to pull some tricks. Looking as disheveled from traveling and stress as we were, a lady approached us and asked if we needed help. B explained what was up. It turned out she lives on the first floor, and she invited us into her home to use her WiFi and get a drink of water.
A Saint. A Blessing. Abundance.
I’ve spent my last couple of love letters talking about the Six of Pentacles. I have often talked about it from the giving side rather than the receiving. Y’all, I was in the receiving position and accepted everything that came my way with nothing short of grace or gratitude. I had to give up ego and go at the mercy of where I was being guided. Penny, my partner, and I are now friends. We spent Tuesday evening with a bottle of wine (rare for us as a couple), tarot cards, and plenty of laughter. Wednesday, we welcomed her up for dinner and discussed the state of the world. The kindness she gave was a gift, and I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Forever grateful for this connection!
The rest of the time we just spent enjoying each other and the sights. We aren’t very good at touristy places, as we don’t like standing in line, and frankly… I’m not great at peopling. I quickly get overwhelmed and need to bail. We often end up back at our home base by 2-3 pm because at that point both of us are giving out on the energy. As I have gotten older, I have learned what rationing my energy looks like. If I need to cook dinner, I need about 2-3 hours to rest and recover before I can successfully cook. Luckily, getting home that early in the day was lovely because the studio we rented was perfect for us.
We did get to hang out at Stanley Park though, which was stunning and perfect. I ate sooooooo many red huckleberries. I’ve never seen bushes so laden before. They were delicious. It was cool being in a different country that had the exact same flora because we are both temperate rainforests.
We hit up DavidsTea twice because hello, teaaaaa! It was an exciting part of our trip to sniff everything and then take forever to decide what we wanted, haha. I wish they wouldn’t put stevia in so much of their mixes. Let people sweeten their own teas, please!
Finally, we hit up some local guitar shops for my partner. He is an avid guitar player, an absolute nerd about it. Before you ask, no. I don’t love it. No. I don’t think it’s hot. No. I don’t attend his shows. He learned the hard way to never serenade me because I will be fighting the urge to flee from such an embarrassing moment. Is it embarrassing because he’s bad? No. It’s embarrassing that I have all of this attention on me, and I don’t know how to react like the movies, hahahaha.
The guitar outing was definitely one of my faves though because I bounced and went and explored on my own. I ended up in this wonderful 20 or so minute conversation with an older-than-me woman (55-60??) talking about farming and produce and gardening. It was fascinating. We also talked about education, and she showed me some of her art. I showed her mine. She worked at this cool antique shop, and it was just a really nice experience. I feel like we talked to a lot of people while we were up North, and I have to say, that’s all because of my partner.
I am a very introverted person in new and public situations. He will just start talking. I picked up some of that audacity (hahaha) this trip, and I began doing the same thing. It felt good. I love the conversations I had. There was that reciprocity of sharing experiences and stories and life even across borders and age gaps. There were lessons learned on this trip, as short as it was. One of them was to be braver with my voice.
I am constantly relearning how to be brave with my voice. My voice is a hard one. Oftentimes, my words get stuck in my throat, completely unable to make a sound, let alone form words. Writing, despite failing almost every writing class and assignment, has been my salvation for getting out my needs in hard conversations. It looks like leaving notes when I go to work, writing out a text explaining exactly what is going on, why I felt hurt or confused, and saying we can talk in person later. Being able to gather my thoughts and breathe through it, edit it, read and reread makes communicating in moments of perceived conflicts so much easier for me. I shut down otherwise. I don’t stand out in crowds either. If someone is in trouble or needs help, I will say something, but otherwise, I’m an observer and people come to me with their stories.
This trip, I went to them with innocuous statements (“Santa would bring us a new pen like this every year”) that would turn into an exchange of gorgeous energy and knowledge passed from one soul to another. I am so grateful we went. I fought it tooth and nail because my anxiety kept telling me how unsuccessful I am at traveling, but we did it. I did it. It was successful and a gorgeous way to celebrate a decade of ups and downs and surviving it all.
That was our trip up to Canada. It was a humble trip, but it was perfect for us. Cooking at home, exploring new spaces, talking with new people. What have you all been up to? How are you feeling? How’re your hearts?
Wishing you well this week! May your life offer what you need in this moment.
With love,
Aventurine ✨
Sounds like a lovely time away full of positive energy 🩷 I love to go away with my daughter because she loves an afternoon nap/rest to recharge before dinner in the evening!
I’ve been battling Covid for the 4th time 🙄 Thankfully it hasn’t been as bad as the previous times so I’ve been able to read, watch TV and do a little cooking.