Living at Lucy's

 High above Guanajuato

With Wings Outstretched, Lifting Off

A great white egret in full flight, wings stretched out in the big blue sky

Each of us has an affinity with certain other creatures. My own animal kinships are with the whale, coyote, frog and the bird tribe.  When you are with the whale, you are swimming into the vast waters of ancient memory. The coyote is bawdy, foolish, shrewd, shocking and sometimes wise. The frog has secrets, including the magic of bringing water and increasing fertility. And the bird tribe, feathered, winged, they take us up up up into the bright sky,  far from the weight of earthly concerns. Birds, the way they spread their wings, the way they lift off and fly, birds remind us of our spiritual essence and they remind us of the kind of freedom that easily opens up when we come to joy.

Birds like to stretch their wings out. They like to lift off and FLY-- and I am no exception. I've had two bird names, Blackbird and Laughingbird, each of which provided some unusual adventures and insights.  I've written about those in my book Songs of the Inner Life. 

Now my Blackbird and Laughingbird monikers are hidden within me. I walk around in the world as Gaea Yudron, a name filled with its own treasure.

It's time for this bird to stretch her wings, to get up off her usual perches and out of her familiar habitats.

The bird woman has no house and no car

I sold my flower cottage at the beginning of September and the other day I sold my car, too. Some people have exclaimed that I now have FREEDOM! Ha ha ha I want to say, considering everything. I mean it's relative. It's true that I have no house, car, family responsibilities or job.

But being a bird with a philosophical bent, I ask "Does this equal FREEDOM!!? Now don't get me wrong, I place a high value on freedom. When I think of freedom, I think of the sky, of the ocean, of the forest, of the meadow. I think of health, contentment, calm, awareness. I think of lovingkindness, the freedom that comes from deep inner richness, something I have seen in the spiritual masters I have learned from.  The freedom that comes from inner development and refinement is the most wonderful kind of freedom.

Is this the famous bluebird of happiness?

There are other beautiful freedoms--the freedom of good health, the freedom to travel, to create, to pray, to help others. I have a fair amount of freedom, and I am grateful for every morsel of it.

The bluebird of happiness

In my first week without a car, I've been walking around or taking the bus. Being without a car gives me a new vantage point.  First of all, without having to focus on driving, I have much more awareness of the landscape, the big fields filled with goats and cows, the light, the clouds, and the people who are on the bus with me.

The people who are on the bus with me are also people without cars--students and other young people, Latinos of all ages, disabled people, drunks, people who do not seem very healthy, folks who might not have much education. The bus is a lot like Walmart-- Good places to pray in. Because a lot of those bus riders and Walmart shoppers do not have it very easy at all. When I am riding the bus, or walking around town, I am thinking like this: for the bus riders, the Walmart shoppers, and all beings who are troubled, may there be ease. May there be prosperity and love.

 The Mythic Firebird

I'm heading for Guanajuato on October 29th. It's Ashland's sister city, but that is not why I am starting my journey there. My friend Carolyn's daughter Mica told me that it was just more relaxed and authentic than nearby San Miguel de Allende, which is a genuine expat watering hole. Of course I will visit there, but I want something less gringoesque.

I'll be in Guanajuato for about a month and hope to learn some Spanish at a highly regarded language school. Oh, there will be many other things, and I will tell you about them along the way.

One woman said that what I am doing is not what women my age usually do. All I can say to that is, I was not called the class nonconformist in high school for nothing, people. I think nonconformity has been a lifelong preference.

As Grace Slick of the old  Jefferson Airplane said: "In school, I learned about artists and how they were free to express themselves. I was allergic to conformity, and the lifestyle attracted me. I wanted to express myself in a way that slammed people up against the wall."

Whew, alright. I've never thought of my own creative expression in that precise slamming type way, but I understand what Slick is saying. I have always valued the awakening, shocking, surprising and opening power of art. When I can do that in my work, I know I have done something good.

The firebird is a magical luminous bird that brings blessings, but it does not bless its captor. Like creativity, it must be free.

Van Gogh's Kingfisher

I love this painting by Van Gogh of a kingfisher in the reeds at the edge of a body of water.

The kingfisher is an old symbol of peace and prosperity. They say that if you come across a kingfisher,  it could mean success and prosperity are coming your way.

May it be so. May the bird tribe bless you with its many gifts.

The Artist's Life: Her Update

Songs of the Inner Life: 
How I Made My Way in the Dark

The final proofing for Songs of the Inner Life has been done, and soon the book will be finished, published, out and about in the world.
  
The book explores the buried meaning in life events, the juxtaposition of ordinary outer life and mysterious inner experience that leads one further into one's calling and development. It's very personal and very universal. 

Creating art can be a solitary and sometimes lonely pursuit. Friends and kindred spirits are essential to one’s sense of purpose and well-being.  I am fortunate in that regard. I have been buoyed up, inspired and brightened by many people, each of whom brings unique and wonderful qualities into my world.  Harry (Rick) Moody, author of a wonderful book titled The Five Stages of the Soul, had this to say about Songs of the Inner Life. 

 "Whoever thought that a spiritual journey could read like a roller coaster ride?  As Bette Davis said, “Fasten your seat belts! ” -- and be ready for a great ride in Gaea Yudron's memoir of her life and times."

Activities In the Kwan Yin Inn

We are assembling the new audacious aging kits in the Kwan Yin Inn, a studio in the back garden. The button making machine, button parts, magnets, booklets and envelopes---each part of the kit sits in happy expectation of meeting people who want to get a positive aging boost in their lives.

People often say "what a cute idea" when they hear about the kits....

Do you want to wear some sassy, pro-aging buttons or give a friend a kit that contains upbeat, life-affirming messages about aging? Great for birthdays, retirement or just because...... Learn more at our website....


Beauties of the Garden, an Ongoing Saga

The poppies are finishing their bloom, the roses are out in full flower, and penstemons, feverfew, snapdragons, daylillies are among the delicious sights right now in the south-facing garden. I am still working on moving the rest of the 3 yards of compost I had delivered to various beds.

Playfulness and the Art of Aging

I'm giving a talk on playfulness on Monday at the  Ashland Food Co-op. Well, it will be more/other than a talk, depending upon how willing the audience is.

Being playful, spontaneous, creative, silly, inventive, outrageous, letting go of one's ordinary persona and behavior--all of that is so refreshing and delightful, freeing, instructive and just plain fun.  I love doing this with groups, and would like to do more of it!

I presented The Poetry of Aging the other day at OLLI. Poetry and playfulness---two of my favorite things to share with others.... Both allow us to take a vacation from ordinary reality and enter other parts of our psyche. I enjoyed sharing what many poets have written about aging, and we had a marvelous conversation about aging afterwards, too.

A NEW WRINKLE

I just finished writing "Organ Recital," a very funny song about physical complaints that composer Laura Rich is now setting to music. One of its verses goes like this:
 

"We have to go to Thailand for our teeth

Getting work done there is much more cheap

the dentists are quite gentle

they’re never temperamental

Thai food is just delightful

We relish every bite full

what’s more, there is also the beach."

Oh, what a wonderful day it will be when the revue is ready for production. I am very ready to see that day arrive.  Well, that is a little of what is going on here in my life as an artist/entrepreneur/social change activist.  

Of course, my life is full of a great many other things, too. I have been happy to see protests against Monsanto arise in so many cities and countries. I pray for the bees, for the whales, for the humans.  Living in a body right now takes a lot of courage and heart.

Perhaps it has always been true. Wishing all of us the courage and heart to meet and engage with life in ways that are fruitful.

Some News from Here and Now

My friend Elizabeth has fallen in love at 83 with a man she has known for many years. She's on her way to spend a month with her beloved. In other words, who knows what will happen next in this life? When I visited Elizabeth before she left on her journey, I had to take a picture of her rug, which she found in Greece. I think it's very beautiful.





Here's a view of the cloud of love-in-a-mist and California poppies in bloom in Elizabeth's garden, so blue and golden next to the red shed.









I love this pink iris. One of many many fabulous irises to be seen yesterday at Indigo Ray's annual iris viewing party in the Colestine Valley. As usual, it was a gathering of old friends from the valley and folks from town, great food, music, swimming, catching up, iris gazing and marveling at what Indigo has created on her land. She told me two years ago, "This place is too much for one old lady," and on a strictly realistic level that would seem to be true.






But Indigo doesn't really operate in the world of strict realism, as her art and gardens and homemade raspberry wine show. She occupies herself creating another kind of reality, communing with nature spirits and the muses of creative life. Time always slows down in Indigo's garden.





Her house has bright colored walls and is full of her paintings and embroideries.

She has created wonderful tableaus in the garden.





Look at this beauty. What a healing place. I am going back there to visit again very soon.

When Galaxies Meet

Nature is the most breathtaking ongoing example of creative collaboration. Each element-- air, earth, fire, water, space-- is incredibly distinct and powerful. And those elements weave, dance, merge, collide, explode, dissipate, and appear continuously in an astounding display giving us weather, seasons, environments, ecologies, landscapes--moods and expressions that are subtle, unfathomable in their complex harmony, dramatic and without constraint.

And universes. Galaxies. Way out there in the slow turning of the timeless. Sometimes I wonder whether the galaxies are also deep within my body. And there are times when I know that they are. When I am taken out of the tiny beauty and imbroglios of my personal life to merge with the immensity of the universal. To me, this is an essential element in art and in life.

We often think of the work of great artists as the expression of their individual genius. Of course it is. Only Monet could paint those particular paintings. Only Martha Graham could dance or choreograph those certain dances. Only Emily Dickinson could write that particular poetry.

But so much of art and human endeavor depends upon collaboration. We are linked to, supported and influenced by our family, community, region, country, era, gender, philosophy, age. I've been thinking of collaboration a great deal lately. I was reviewing my various collaborative efforts over the years from the basketball and softball teams of my youth, working on magazines as a writer and editor, playing in improvisational music groups, developing new nonprofit organizations, participating in a dynamic Buddhist community for over 30 years and writing a best-selling book with my former husband.

"Every collaboration helps you grow." musician Brian Eno says of his collaboration with David Bowie. That's certain. Sometimes you just have to thank your lucky stars that your prayers for a great collaborative partnership were answered. What is a great collaborative partnership? For me, it means working with others who have talents I don't have, sharing and creating in ways that are supportive, warm, respectful, honest and lively.

It's a great experience to write in a solitary way, to spend hours imagining and developing creative work alone. And it's also marvelous and very stimulating to collaborate, to be refreshed and aired out by playing with other people.

I know that's what's in the stars for me. Galaxies will meet, that's for sure. My collaboration with composer Laura Rich on the music in my play has been and is a wonderful partnership. And I know it is just the beginning. Now I will meet new galaxies aplenty--and they will be disguised as actors, singers, musicians, directors, producers, backers, supporters and audiences. And in the meeting of those galaxies all stars, planets, black holes and mysteries of outer and inner space will be charged and changed in ways that are yet to be known.