Apr15
Posted on Apr 15 by Ruth Davis
On Wednesday morning the water pump light was still working on the monitor panel. The night before, a dear friend’s husband said that he was convinced it had been a loose wire, probably at the switch, and that the air conditioner probably caused just enough vibration to make it work. He was sure that all was fine. And so I drove to the gas station on Wednesday morning, thinking that the vibration of the drive would be a good test. The monitor light still worked, and so I kept going. Cody settled into his bed under the dinette and we got on the I-10 and drove south and east. We got gas outside of Tucson – I like to fill the tank when it gets to half, especially when I’m driving across the desert where gas towns can be far and few between. We drove a few more hours, across the state line into New Mexico and pulled into our camp spot at City of Rocks State Park, 35 miles north of Deming, around 3:00, which was 4:00...
Apr08
Posted on Apr 8 by Ruth Davis
SUNDAY: It is my last weekend in Phoenix and of course, I feel a mix of excitement and sadness, leaving Marika and Mabel and what I’ve gotten used to in order to experience what is next. Present. Future. This is my mantra. Embrace what is, with an eye on the horizon. And so this morning, Marika and I enjoyed breakfast on the patio while I ticked off of a list of things I needed her help with. And then she listened to me while I bawled with gratitude, because of how supportive she is of my journey. I said, “Can you imagine for a moment that this is a movie, and here I am, all ready to venture out by myself and suddenly you say OK, I’ll go, and you quit your job and call your friend down the street to keep an eye on the house and you grab some clothes and your binoculars and spotting scope and you and Mabel join me. And everyone in the audience would be cheering!” She was looking at me with a...
Apr01
Posted on Apr 1 by Ruth Davis
It is the last Wednesday before I officially head out on the Heart Sparks Road Tour. These past few weeks have been a steady stream of working and readying, prepping and planning, and riding the unexpected bumps in the road. My favorite swivel chair in the RV broke at the base. After checking the RV salvage yard for a replacement part, I had a mobile welder come and fix it. The RV’s generator wouldn’t start so I had another mobile tech come. He cleaned the carburetor and got it running, but reported that the fuel line to the generator is spliced and he couldn’t reach under the tank to replace it. An RV place quoted $180-$800 for the repair, depending on how easy it would be to reach the tank. I’ve decided NOT to fix it, since I only need the generator if I’m not plugged into electricity, and only to run the microwave or A/C. Everything else is powered by the house batteries, which are charged by the solar panels. I’ve done a thorough culling of things...
Mar25
Posted on Mar 25 by Ruth Davis
I recently had a massage with a new massage therapist. As she was working on my troubled right hip she said, “You do so much for others that you haven’t been taking care of yourself.” “Oh no, that’s not me at all,” I said. “I’m very good at being selfish.” I felt she was generalizing, assuming I was like so many women who are so busy caring for kids and partners, always doing and pleasing everyone else that they never make time for themselves. I don’t have kids or a partner or a needing person in my life and so I didn’t see myself in that role of selfless caretaker/caregiver. But the next day, as I was driving to a client, I felt the opened space between my shoulder blades and less pain in my hip and I remembered the massage therapist’s comment. And I realized she was right. I spend the majority of my time working. Whether it’s actually sitting with a client, teaching them something about their Mac, or coaching a group or writing a blog post,...
Mar18
Posted on Mar 18 by Ruth Davis
I love old suitcases. Not because of any travel romance, but because they are containers. They hold things. Suitcases are sturdy, compact, colorful. They are resilient, protecting and portable. They have a handle to make them easy to carry around. I have used suitcases to store art supplies and old journals. I’ve used them as end tables in my living room. I’ve even created art pieces in small travel cases that tell a single chapter of a bigger story. Growing up, my family played the What’s In Your Suitcase game on the long drives between Long Island and Philadelphia where my mother’s family lived. Each person would begin: “I’m going on a trip and in my suitcase I’m going to pack” and we’d take turns naming objects and items, real and imagined, that we would put in the suitcase. The only rule was that the item had to begin with the next letter of the alphabet. It was a fun game, full of silliness and laughing, and it also exercised our memorization skills. I’ve played the game as an...
Mar11
Posted on Mar 11 by Ruth Davis
This past Sunday, yoga teacher Deborah McEvoy and I facilitated an amazing Heart Sparks Yoga and Writing Workshop. We breathed, we stretched, we stood in tree pose and, after Shavasana, we dove into that calm and opened spaciousness and explored deeper responses to I AM and I LOVE with some free writing. Several women in the workshop shared that they didn’t like to cry or express their emotions because it is a sign of weakness, or they didn’t want to attract attention. I believe that crying and being with your feelings actually takes great strength and courage. And that, when we cry, we give others permission to cry. Perhaps the people who have told us that it’s weak are just not strong enough to feel their own emotions. Today’s post is reprinted from my book HEART SPARKS. It’s a reminder for me too, not to judge the tears, but just continue to invite them to flow. * * * * * Another Yoga and Writing Workshop will happen in Atlanta, GA on May 9th. Stacey Beth Shulman will facilitate...
