This is a picture of Sonoma from Sonoma Heights. This was a great short hike we did several times right from our house.  It took about one hour up and down and it was a beautiful view.  You can actually see San Fransisco on a good day!

This was intended to be on the page with the Sonoma entry.  Just one of so many beautiful fields with grapes!

Sonoma, California, 2012

We leave Sonoma CA tomorrow after spending one full glorious month here. I feel so grateful for this experience I find myself not wanting to let go of this amazing place, not wanting to go home. It feels different to me as usually I am looking forward to going home. Of course being the lover of light and sunshine, I am aware of the wonderful sunny, warm weather that Sonoma will predominantly have until next fall. With such an abundance of sun I can  see myself settling into life knowing that each day for awhile will have a sunrise and sunset I can actually see and hours in between with the warmth of sunlight on my body. Here I found the part of me that comes alive in the out of doors, in the beauty of nature. Even in the cool, cloudy weather I was pulled to find new hikes,new walks in the woods, on the green hills bursting with new life, sometimes, often in the evenings walks in town on the quiet streets of Sonoma taking in the beautiful homes, brilliant gardens or strolling around the square. Spring is in full bloom here with so many vibrant colors to feast on wherever I go. This last month in Sonoma offered activities with new and different experiences to share with others creating a sense of community. Dick, Donna, Mike and Diane were also here in Sonoma as well as James and Julie who are friends of the Peabody's. I attended a couple of classes at the Community Center and found the people very friendly and available. (classes were fun as well) Actually wherever we went in Sonoma it seemed that the people were friendly, kind, and real. It is a community I could see myself living in. It was especially nourishing to have this much time with David without the distractions of our everyday life. We found a rhythm here each day that allowed for real connection and fun. Our time in Esalen was unusually special. We both share such a deep love and connection with Big Sur, another very unique part of California. We are going home committed to giving each other Esalen massages! And so for now I will close as I am being informed that on our day of departure major protests are being planned for the Golden Gate Bridge and other parts of San Francisco, hence it looks like we will need to leave very early!

Every Day Really Counts

Every Day Really Counts.

I woke up quite early today , about five after a light sleep. It may be the prednisone I am on for the poison oak I got while hiking last week here in Sonoma or it may be the incredible movie I saw (The Lady) last night at the Sonoma Film Festival. Whatever it is, I feel very alive and ENORMOUSLY grateful for life. Words are merely not adequate to describe the woman in Burma , Aung San Sun Kyi. Her courage, her vision, her personal sacrifices, and her devotion to human rights are so deeply touching that I am filled with my own renewed sense of life.

I have been continuously reminded of how life , my feelings, thoughts, awarenesses, changes everyday, in fact really every moment. Being in the moment of the experience, whether it is sitting here pouring out words onto my computer, eating lunch in a downtown cafe, walking among all the new life of springtime, or allowing the sadness of a moment to come fully present ,I am personally experiencing how being with the complete awareness of what is actually happening is at the core of really living. Embracing all of what life has to offer us at this amazing smorgasbord of possibilities is what it means to live a full life. Clearly some life journeys are far more difficult than others, however as we truly accept what is present something opens, the remembering of who we really are with all the dramas of life, all the stories we tell ourselves has room to emerge.

I do think there is something about this incredibly, strong, determined LADY in Burma that brought this to the forefront of my awareness of what it means to be a human being. She has touched so many others with her sense of justice, compassion and strength. And now me - halfway around the world.

So my prayer for today is to embrace with loving kindness, moment by moment life as it appears - to remember so much of what I truly know that living my life from my heart, filled with compassion for the journey of all living beings brings me fully into my humanness.

Easter in Sonoma

I just want to get a few thoughts down on paper before this day passes. I am not sure how coherent they will be because it is late at night

This was a very different "Easter for me". No Easter egg hunts, or coloring of eggs before Easter, no Easter dinner, and no family here with us to celebrate. I miss my children and grandchildren. I loved skping with Jason and family last night and appreciated the pictures of Tessa and Thatcher that he sent us today. I was very happy to talk with Susan and Lukas today. All of this gave me a real connection to what matters, which is so much of what holidays are about. - family. But they were not here ...so what would we do....

We went to the Unitarian church in Santa Rosa. We both really enjoyed that. It certainly brought back to the part of me what Easter has always been long before my Palmer family....a church service. The minister's theme was about flowers from the perspective of renewal, beauty and rebirth. It really is difficult to put into words the rather magical way he created thus service (in part because it is late and I don't really have the grasp of words I am wanting), however suffice it to say that he found the right mix of poetry, music, insights, and humor to bring me back to my heart. I found myself feeling weepy at times. In other words the service touched my heart deeply. And so while I missed some of the things about Easter that have always mattered to me, this day had its own touch of rebirth and magic for me.

Our day ended with a leisurely, impromptu dinner with a couple from Vermont, Mike and Diane who are here with our friends Dick and Donnw (away for now) which was most enjoyable. So tonight I am once again reminded of one of my favorite quotes, "Life happens while you are making plans"