Sunny, summer morning ...high of 84. It's still cooler right now so I'm enjoying my hot cup of coffee and a quiet house. Everyone's still sleeping ...after 9am!
I've been thinking a lot about home; about all of the homes I enjoy. My current house, family, life/body, land, etc. I often walk or drive by our house, looking at it and thinking, "lots of love in that little place!" I look at it through distance, like we've moved and I'm seeing it as a place we once lived. When I do this, I think the same thing, "So many good times there --I loved living there!" If I had any different thoughts, I'd probably be working hard to change any disruptive feelings. We're doing finish-work on the house now so it's just feeling more and more like home.
I've never felt so at home in any other town. There is something about Butte that eases me; makes me know I'm in the right place. I used to consider myself a traveler. I always thought I'd travel and see the world ...especially having moved away from Minnesota right out of high school. I thought the wandering gene was in my blood. It's really NOT! I feel a little funny writing that, seeing as I admire the travelers so much. I admire how they're able to take their "home" with them ...being able to adapt so quickly to new places and people. I love new places and people but I feel like I can find such people and places in my backyard!!
I've been studying palm reading and it's fascinating! So far, the markings on my own hand are very me ...even though there are many that I don't know how to interrupt yet. It just makes me feel more like this current body is a small home, housing energy ...much like the house I drive by and think, "Happy times fill that home." I feel like the lights are on, the temperature is right, good things are cooking and there are places to both rest and entertain ...and definitely places that could use some home improvement!
Ann --the little girl, I used to babysit, is now 21 and in Africa (Kenya --Mombasa.) She is helping at a hospital and really experiencing a different culture. I've been reading her blog and am so impressed how she is jumping right into such a different place. She went on a safari --14+hours in a van to reach the area of lions, zebras, elephants and the Masai Tribe. She wrote down details about how the Masai tribe lives. They live in houses that the women make from cow dung. They drink cow's blood and let their cows sleep in half of the house (so the lions don't eat their food source at night.) They arrange marriages and trade girls (sisters/wives) for cows, etc. The boys are sent into the wilderness at age 15, for 5 years ...etc. Ann observed how very connected the tribe is, as a community and how content ...even happy, they are, as strange as the situation may seem to us! (Ann's blog is: http://abergstr.blogspot.com/)
I read this wondering what very strange things we Americans do. I was wondering what the Masai Tribe would think was odd about us. I think that they would approve of our homes (well, maybe not all of them!), our refrigerators full of food, grocery stores with variety ...etc. Although, they'd likely wonder why we rely so heavily on others to supply our food sources. What would they think about our 8+ work days at desks, our cities jammed with cars that go nowhere when everyone is trying to get somewhere. I wonder if they'd think it strange that we can borrow more money than we can pay back in a year. Ann's entry made we want to examine the very strange cultural standards we practice ...made me want to change the absurd, as a mirror reflects our culture.
My palm reading book says that the "Lifepath Line" is becoming weaker on the palms of people in Western societies. Author Johnny Fincham writes, "This is because there are so many pressures and distractions that weaken our sense of identity. It's becoming harder and harder to know who we are. For those with no Lifepath Line ...any practice which increases self-knowlege should be encouraged."
One more thing about our palms and the way we experience the world. I'll quote Fincham directly again:
"Crudely speaking, vertical lines (if well formed and clear) are about a sense of holding on, going deeper, getting better, improving the quality of life, inner development, extending skills and self knowledge and staying fixed on course. Horizontal lines are about power over the exterior world, shaping, owning, ordering, conceiving and connecting to people, places and possessions.
It's interesting that on engravings of ancient hands there are an abundance of vertical lines, where on modern palms the opposite is true. This indicates a withdrawal from the inner realms over time to the outer world of the present, in a more material, less spiritual culture." (p.98 Palmistry)
You know the cliche', "bloom where you're planted?" I've been thinking, that's great if you must. Isn't it nice to know more about what plant zone you thrive in and transplant to the place that best accommodates your particular attributes?? There is something about recognizing who you are ...even if you already had a feeling about it. Fincham writes that palm readings can change a person's life because he points out what systems are directing one's life ...examples: Holding onto past family issues, sensitive nature in an insensitive environment, nonlinear thinker -vs- linear thinker, flirtatious, unable to fully relax, teacher, live in the moment -vs- think way ahead ...etc. --Even if you know it, having someone else say, "This is who you are right now ...look at what your life is telling me" ...it is liberating ...like you can now jump into the proper soil, with the proper light ...and bloom ...and feel like you're home.
