Dear Reader, I am remembering my commitment to my nineteen-year-old younger self. I share her story in her words. It is a story of courage as well as confusion. She is imperfect and deeply damaged. I hurt for her yet I remember that there is nothing to fix. I am so proud of what she […]
Iona Drozda
Tuesday Afternoon
He whom life fulfills, Though he remains a child, Is immune to the poisonous sting Of insects, to the ravening Of wild beasts or to the vultures’ bills. From Verse 55 Tao te Ching There is a quality of ‘no-time and no-place’ to these days. First thing in the morning I sit in bed and […]
Torn You Can Mend
Dear Readers, the nineteen-year-old continues to experience a year of separation. Separation from home and family, teen pregnancy, separation from her infant. She loses a sense of direction through displacement, entrapment, rape, and soul murder. Because of the LSD ‘medicine’, she becomes separated from her day to day consciousness, for better or worse. The Farm […]
The Glory of Friendship
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship. ― Ralph Waldo Emerson Dozens of warm eggs are placed […]
The Natural Rhythm of a Day
Dear Readers ~ I, and the nineteen-year-old girl, appreciate your eye, your heart, and your comments. If you are new to this blog I invite you to circle around to the beginning chapter. To recap; this is a story of recovery and discovery which comes forward as part of my healing from a traumatic injury […]
To Care, To Be Fair, To Be Humble
Dear Readers, This week, June 8, marks the 52nd anniversary of my son’s birth. The night yard will be filled with fireflies dazzling my eye as I recall the magic and the miracle of all that life brings. We are surrounded by what in Buddhism we learn to see as the ‘sorrowful-joy’ and the ‘joyful-sorrow’. […]
From Wonder into Wonder
If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment. Henry David Thoreau I wake inside a sleeping bag. I’m on the floor in the front room of the farmhouse. Band equipment fills the small space; guitars, amplifiers, drums, tambourines, keyboard, mike stands. Large pieces of recording equipment […]
The Beautiful Trail
Dear Readers, One of the best gifts at this age is having the awareness that there are moments in life named: Pivotal. Turning points. Mystical Openings. Call them what you will just be sure to call them. Usher them in. Make space for the opportunity to never be the same. Be willing to feel better. […]
One Pill Makes You Larger …
Dear Readers, There is a bright turn occurring for the nineteen-year-old. The ‘medicine’ that “will help you feel better” is taking effect. As she transmits this part of her experience I am at the tree farm, eight days off-grid on 50-acres of completely quiet land (save for the wind and the birds). I am compelled […]
This Will Help You
Here the story takes yet another profound and unbelievable turn. The nineteen-year-old tells of the bizarre and amazing experiences that create the extreme defining transition from her childhood to … ‘where am I now?’ She is being carried. She can have no idea what will happen next. Thank you, Dear Readers, for witnessing her journey […]