Thursday, June 25

It really did rain overnight; the sand was wet everywhere this morning. And it was cooler once the rain began, so it was a pleasant night.

It looks as though the overcast has gone and the smoke has lessened considerably. The sun is back, so it should be a lovely day.

There was a hike to the top of a plateau this morning. I decided not to go, as, it seems, about half the group! If you enlarge the middle picture below, you can see some folks at the very top of the plateau.

With all the being unplugged, it seems odd to feel that there hasn’t been enough downtime, but a few of us are feeling that. Some of that is all the activities, some is that there is a lot of vising and discussion going on. Even foregoing an activity doesn’t always mean quiet time for self-reflection. But, it’s all good.

Today we encountered a more active portion of river. More and bigger rapids. Many don’t seem very treacherous, but even a mild-looking rapid can have hidden rocks. Going over one could mean getting bounced out of the raft, so we’ve been instructed to have one hand holding on to a strap secured to the raft (inside hand) and the other to a rope that encircles the boat (outside hand). One hopefully keeps you in the raft and the other keeps you attached to the raft if you find yourself in the river.

I’m in the lead raft today, with Jackie as our expert guide. As the lead guide on this trip, she’s responsible for us all. She chooses the path for the rafts to take and provides guidance for everyone. This crew is so collaborative. Everyone pitches in and works together. Truly a fabulous group.

Today’s routine was a bit different. With the morning filled with rapids, we all agreed we could do a late lunch. So after scouting a particularly tricky rapid (parking the rafts and walking to an observation point to study the water flow), we ran that one and extended to go through a few more before getting to a stopping point.

Getting this far meant we made it to our campsite for the night. We made short work of setting up camp, then had lunch. This was a nice change because it meant we had more leisurely time to spend however we wanted. There was some alone time, some bathing time, some sharing time.

The only downside to this campsite was that across the river are a few buildings that are apparently abandoned. Seem the Ute community had planned to develop a business along the river, but either stopped or just gave up. It’s such a beautiful place, it a shame for it to be marred by those buildings. After these few days not seeing signs of civilization, it’s kind of jarring to see them standing there.

Caryn, Jean, and I carved out some time to read the lesson together. This reading time was interrupted by some strong winds that not only blew sand all over us, but at one point un-tethered half the tent! The stakes are only driven into the sand, after all. Fortunately we were reading right next to the tent and were able to catch it. Whew! No telling where it might have blown to if we hadn’t been there.

We had sharing time both before and after a delicious Mexican-themed dinner. The last portion of the after dinner was when I shared my “gift,” Katie’s “I Will Serve the Beautiful” song. It was the right time. Here are the words:

I WILL SERVE THE BEAUTIFUL! By Katie Grigg-Miller © 2020
Featuring paraphrase of Joshua 24:15,  Matt. 6:24,  Deut. 10:12; 11:26; 30:19,  Phil. 4:8

Every day, there’s a choice — a position to take.
To be a witness for good or an agent of greed and hate.
No one can serve two masters;  choose this day, whom you will serve. 
They’re set before us daily:  life or death;  blessing or curse.

I heard someone singing: “You’re gonna’ have to serve someone;
may be the devil, may be the loving God.”

I will serve the Beautiful!   I will nurture compassion, justice and joy;
I will speak of the humble, the holy, the true;  I will serve the Good.
I believe in the Beautiful!   I will praise the sublime  in all that I do;
I will look for the light in this world, and I choose to see the Good in you.

No one can serve two masters; choose this day, whom you will serve.
They’re set before us daily, love or hate; evil or good. 
As for me and my house,  we will work for justice and peace; 
we will choose the blessing; we will witness the Love that heals.

We will serve the Beautiful!   We will nurture compassion, justice and joy;
We will speak of the humble, the holy, the true;  We will serve  the Good.
Oh, I believe in the Beautiful!   I will praise the sublime  in all that I do;
I will look for the light in this world; and I choose to see the Good in you.

Oh, I will serve the Beautiful!   I will praise the sublime  in all that I do;
I will work for harmony, justice and love — I will serve  the Good!
I will serve the Good!   I will serve the Good!

Last thing, Kathy offered to tell us a bedtime story about a fisherman and seals. She’s a great storyteller and it was lovely.

Tonight’s Exercise Break

As a group, we read a chapter from Terry Tempest Williams, “Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert.” The chapter was “Ode to Slowness.” Each of us read a portion, then stopped for the next person to pick it up. The chapter was several pages long, and it just so happened that the last person in the circle read the last portion, without us planning out how much each person would read. Nice.

We were again invited to write in our journals and share if we wanted to. Here’s what I wrote.

I recall two specific things I was looking forward to when I retired:

• not having to wake up to an alarm clock
• being able to do things, everything, on my own schedule, not someone else’s

The first (no alarm clock) was, and remains, a constant joy.

The second was life changing. Being able to choose what to do when, has been something I feel I worked my whole life to attain. Not having limited time to spend on an activity because I have to do another activity at a certain time–this feels to me like a small slice of heaven.

I immediately felt that this is absolutely what life should be like for everyone.

Our lives are so scheduled. When do we have time to move to an internal rhythm? To stop and start doing things when it seems right? To do nothing allows space for serendipity, for receiving messages from the universe. To hear God speak. Isn’t this what life should be?

I can’t say I’ve always taken advantage of this new freedom, but I certainly have readjusted my way of being around it.

And every day I acknowledge how grateful I am for this unhurried, unlabored, unstructured life.