I nearly didn’t get around to posting this weekend, as the last fortnight has been a blur of struggle and challenge (despite some beautiful highs). Yet, in the midst of much destabilisation and uncertainty, I nevertheless today found a moment of peace and calm, and a surge of energy to write and to share with you here online. For the first time in days my splitting headaches have eased, and I look forward to tomorrow moving into a new home – where I’ll be spending the next 6 weeks.
Uncertainty and a sense of not having a permanent “home” followed me, from Canada to Costa Rica. After a couple of months touring in the van, I’d been longing to come back to Costa Rica and finally have a safe space to ground, rest, work, and to allow my creative juices to flow. However, soon after my arrival, I found myself uprooted again. I had to leave the property I was taking care of due to mould problems that were making me sick. Thankfully, friends took me in at their hostel (Shipwrecked, in Uvita) while I awaited a new house-sit.
The constant “shifting” around, and swirl of energy lately, has been testing me to my limits. Yet, I’ve been finding solace by just going to lay on the beach (one of my favourites is Playa Hermosa in the picture here), curled up on the warm sand, with the music of the crashing waves soothing me. Recent circumstances have been reminding me of the “transience” of so much in this life, but also the relative “permanence” of the earth and her beauty (provided we take care of these paradise places!) I’m yearning deeply for my own home to be ready, whilst also trying to soften into acceptance of what is present right now: through my meditation practices and connection with Mother Earth.
“Take me back to the earth, back to the ground
Show me where I’m going, when I’ll be found…
Back to the earth, back to the ground
Where I’m from, and where I’m found…”
Those are a few lines from a recent song of mine about connecting with the earth – knowing we are home, wherever we go on this planet. 🌎 And they are a little reminder to us all, to keep grounding deeper into our practices, into our appreciation for the simple gifts of life, and the blessings the earth offers us.
Finally, I’ll leave you with a poem on “home”, which I actually wrote near the end of our Western Canada tour just over a month ago. We were staying at the home of the owners of Moose & Squirrel Bistro in Medicine Hat, a lovely venue we were playing at. Their home and hospitality was a welcome relief after an intense week on the road – we’d driven all the way from Vancouver, with a stop in smokey Kamloops (forest fires just a few kilometres away), and gigs every other night. Although it was just a temporary “home” for the night, I remember nevertheless my body softening and relaxing like it hadn’t in a while, appreciating the space after so much time in the van.
Home... is where the sweetness of all your memories can come to lay at peace, your soul at rest integrating and refracting through the full spectrum of the rainbow. Fears ease away, and you're left with gold dust, there in the pan, glimmering in the sun after being washed clean by the rains and by the river, purifying waters that bring life to the lands and love to the heart. Home is where nothing more is desired - the magic of the here and the now entangles you in its web and holds you close in a nourishing cocoon that gently carries you, to the world of dreams, lived and fulfilled here upon the loamy soils of Mother Earth.
So, here’s a little reminder that home can be anywhere. Home is within us, and in our connection to the earth. Any and every place here can be a home for us, and I hope you will always find that solace, wherever you may go.
Have a beautiful end to your week, and a bright start to the next one.
With love,
Cara