The Return: Rediscovering Home

“Every traveler has a home of his own, and he learns to appreciate it the more from his wandering.”
                                       --Charles Dickens

People tell me that that have enjoyed following the tales of my travels, and I am glad that my reports afforded them some pleasure. I have cured myself at least temporarily of severe museum deprivation after visiting so many marvelous museums in Guanajuato, Puebla, Oaxaca, La Paz and Ensenada.

Japanese quince and white flowers of  mystery

I certainly refreshed my imagination with new vistas, music, architectures and colors. I took in the astonishing beauty of the brown people of Mexico, and was touched by their warm, courteous ways.  How mystifying and delightful it was to have my ears and heart saturated with the Spanish language, so eloquently suited for poetry and romance.

I had memorable meals of new foods, sometimes pushed myself out beyond what was comfortable and met some new friends along the way.

A flood of forsythias

As I have probably said at least once, I am not one of those glamorous gypsies who is always poised to head out on some new travel adventure. My own travels are mainly of an inner nature.

When I say that to people, some of them look at me quite quizzically, wondering what in the world I mean. In the US, we are not a culture that elevates the inner life. Ah well.

Having tasted the expat fantasy and found it was not for me right now, here I am again in the town I sometimes call Ashlantis, where I have lived most of the time since 1977.

Ashland, Oregon is a place of much beauty and deep community connection, a place ornamented with artists, healers and real estate agents. Property values are high, white is the primary skin color, and for such a small town, there is plenty of culture, punctuated with a bit of pretentiousness at times.

A photo of the Rogue Valley by Penny Roberts

With close to 40 years' experience living here, I have witnessed a great deal of change. I have lived on a great many streets. I have many longtime friends. There are people and places about which I have definite opinions.
 
I have decided that it would be enjoyable and good to look at Ashland as if I were newly arrived. To appreciate it in the way a visitor does. To take a fresh look at the place and at the people I meet, and as much as possible, to engage the kind of openness and curiosity that I had while traveling, and do that right here in the home place.
 

In the Midst of Real Life: The Heart's Calling

Fortunate me. I have been welcomed into the large, comfortable home of a woman around my age, who has lived in the home for 30 years. She is a gregarious, warm, generous person who loves kids and loves to travel.

My new abode is up in the hills, near a big nature preserve and close to many hiking trails. My room is airy and spacious with a high ceiling and a big window that looks out onto pines, willows and manzanita. Stairs lead up to a small sitting area. The carpeting is confederate blue. My bed has a skylight over it and if I want, I can lie there and look at the clouds or the stars. There's a deck right outside my door. The whole house is welcoming and relaxed. It's a very good place to land.

Four months of travel gave me the opportunity to air out and in the process I discovered afresh what is really important to me. My spiritual path. Being close to my spiritual community. Creativity. Art.

I am a woman who from youth has always settled down in the midst of a community of artists, and here I am.  Hallelujah.

If you are a romantic fool like me, you know what it means to go to extremes following your passions.

Perhaps that is what it takes to shake things loose at times.

Sage's Play Full Voice Revival

Before I left for Mexico in late October, I had sold my house and car and sold or given away most of my belongings. I was convinced I was Finished and Done with Everything. Everything!

I closed my Sage's Play website down, closed the Sage's Play bank account and disconnected from the fiscal sponsorship that had allowed me to receive tax-deductible donations for creative aging projects.

Now I discover it all afresh, as I  I return to the work I believed I was done with it for good.  I am in the energy of revival, and in the gospel spirit, that can be a powerful thing.

I am working on creating a one-woman show featuring a juicy collection of some of the songs from our musical revue A New Wrinkle. I also plan to develop some online courses based on themes and issues from my book Songs of the Inner Life. (Check out the link for more about the book.) I'll be talking more about these projects here, and also in my long-resting newsletter, which I will be reviving as well.

As Mr. Fred Rogers points out, kindness is the way to ultimate success, and of course that includes being kind to oneself.  I find it interesting and a bit amusing to reflect on some of the ways that I learn and grow. It is all just fine.

Older and Wiser

As I've reported in the past, scientists are starting to get a handle on what has been known for centuries. In the past 10 years, researchers have been discovering more and more about the remarkable integrative and altruistic capabilities of the older brain. There was a good article in the New York Times recently that reported on some current research in that area. Their headline was Older Really Can Mean Wiser. (Speaking of no-brainers, duh.) You may find the article interesting.


 So here's to spring, to home, to creativity and playfulness and to embracing aging with resilience and the deeper knowing that comes from having lived quite awhile.

P.S. I have a Sage's Play page on Facebook, in case you would like to connect with what I post there.

"Artists should be the oxygen of society"

A window in the restaurant of Casa Maria

San Agustin Etla, Oaxaca--

This morning someone posted a marvelous article about 33 Artists in 3 Acts, a book by Sarah Thornton. The article included some terrific quotes by artists who are also activists. Like these two.


"Artists should be the oxygen of society. The function of the artist in a disturbed society is to give awareness of the universe, to ask the right questions, to open consciousness and elevate the mind."
          --Marina Abramovic

"Loneliness is a valuable feeling. Artists need to know how to walk alone."
                  --Ai Weiwei

I was musing all morning about creativity and the role of the artist. I naturally thought about Francisco Toledo.  As soon I arrived in Oaxaca 6 weeks ago, I became quite aware of Francisco Toledo, a Zapotec artist around my age whose contributions to art and social change here are impressive and very inspiring.

Some days things just naturally come together and today was like that. I went up the hill to have comida at Casa Maria, a restaurant that is part of an old hotel. It's a beautiful place, and on the walls there are 6 small drawings by Francisco Toledo.

Francisco Toledo

The restaurant was much busier than it usually is when I eat there. I sat down where I usually sit. At the next table, there sat the artist Francisco Toledo with a group of his friends. They were enjoying themselves and I really enjoyed being that close to them.  Yes, I wanted to talk with him, but it didn't feel right. What could I say? In Spanish, not much, certainly not what I wanted to say. I didn't have the Spanish words to say "Senor Toledo, I admire what you have done and what you no doubt will continue to do and I am grateful that your creativity is so generous, beautiful, practical and inspired."

At the Centro de las Artes de San Agustin

So I contented myself with feeling happy about having the chance to see him. What I noticed was his simplicity, humility and naturalness. Refreshing, especially for someone like me who has seen a lot of more ego-driven artist behavior, especially in New York City.

Francisco Toledo has done some amazing things here in Oaxaca. Through his leadership, a big trash-filled field was transformed into the marvelous Ethnobotanical Garden. He spearheaded development of Centro de las Artes de San Agustin, a spacious museum whose corn exhibit I wrote about here in an earlier essay. He was instrumental in the establishment of an art library at the Instituto de Artes Graficas de Oaxaca (IAGO), and was involved in the founding of the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Oaxaca (MACO), among other projects.

Sunset in San Agustin Etla

 I imagine that Toledo had a great deal to do with convening an upcoming cultural event that will be held at the San Agustin Center for the Arts. It will be a gathering of poetry, narrative, song and childrens' literature-- all in the Zapotec language.

Artists can have significant effects on society, catalyzing profound changes in awareness, presenting the gift of beauty, opening up individuals, cities and cultures to their deeper music. Toledo is such an artist. Bravo.

I will be leaving this beautiful little village in two days. It is not always easy to leave beautiful places. Perhaps I will return here. Perhaps I will live here someday. It is not clear yet.  But it feels good to think that I can return. I am happy that I have had 2 weeks to relax in the midst of its beauty, to walk the dirt roads, seeing many beautiful birds and enjoying the river that runs nearby. I needed to take some time to refresh after two months in the ancient, busy cities of Guanajuato and Oaxaca. And I did. Now I am headed for La Paz, the capital of Baja. Que to vaya bien. May it go well with you.