Yesterday we were supposed to be getting things ready for our big yard sale next week. Of course, as things tend to go around here, we did something completely different. An unexpected sunny(ish) and warm(ish) day lead us out to the farmer's market early in the day. I love the farmer's market. In my opinion that is what community is all about. People coming together to buy food for themselves and their families with those who have worked hard to grow produce, bake bread, prepare delicious treats. Musicians and dancers sharing the joy of their art. Children and adults laughing, smiling....living. True comfort food.
After the farmer's market we had an errand to run to drop some stuff off at a friend's house. And once again, as things tend to go, we got sidetracked. It just happens that the neighborhood she lives in was having their annual art fair. Not being one to pass up art nor neighborhood fairs - we joined in the festivities. Again we saw smiling faces. Lots of smiling faces. And people of all walks of life expressing themselves freely in art, dress, music. The parade featured a band riding on a bicycle pulled sofa. (Yes, I said sofa!) Kids riding unicycles , big tall - must be 6 foot high - bikes, stilt walkers, and a marching band in uniforms were as full of life as their music.
We wound up the day with a nice dinner in our backyard of treasures we acquired on our days journey. Grilled asparagus, a nice hearty sourdough bread, organic chevre, tomatoes, sorrel, basil, kalamata olives. The whole family sat together on blankets and lawn chairs, braving the jungle of our desperately needing mowed lawn. It was wonderful. My heart was swelling with such love for the beautiful family we have made together.
It was a perfect day.
As the day was coming to an end, I thought about how much I love the place we live now and the life we have. It seems almost crazy to be planning such a big change to it all. Yet, it is because of the happiness and love that we have in our lives that makes this the perfect time to do just that.
There is a Zen tale that I recall... A man was searching for a new home when he came upon the gates to a village. The gate keeper asked him what the people in his former home were like, and the man told him of horrible selfish, mean and nasty folk. The gate keeper told him that the people in the village were the same way - and advised the man to keep searching. Soon another man looking for a new home came upon the same village gates. The gate keeper asked the same question of this man. He described a life of love and happiness in the land he came from. The gate keeper smiled and told him that those who lived in the village were the same, and welcomed him in to join them. For whatever you bring with you is what you find. We bring with us a life of hope, creativity, and joy for living. And I trust that is what we will find wherever we go.
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