● A World of Possibilities

Back in the shop

Earlier this year my life changed again. I posted my 100th blog post and announced that I would walk 1400 kilometers or 850 miles on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. I did that very thing this summer. Back home now, I am well and living to tell the tale. No, it did not break me. And it did not “make” me. It added to my – already in the making – awareness of who I am. The world got a bit smaller, in a metaphoric sense.

Did I answer the question I asked in my announcement:

Is anybody out there?

Yes, there are many people out there who have the same or similar purpose, which is to live a good life. I just needed one good year after heartache and loss in the last few years. Is it really a surprise that I am here, still, on this earth to live, learn, and love?

And once you realize that you can do something, it would be difficult to live with yourself if you didn’t do it.
– James Baldwin

It is not surprising.

To be born means being compelled to choose an era, a place, a life. To exist here, now, means to lose the possibility of being countless other potential selves.. Yet once being born there is no turning back. And I think that’s exactly why the fantasy worlds of cartoon movies so strongly represent our hopes and yearnings. They illustrate a world of lost possibilities for us.
– Hayao Miyazaki

Real life

I am not a cartoon loving kind of girl. Whether the animation is Pixar, manga, claymation, or just old-fashioned illustration, it is not real life. A physical drawing or animation is real, but it is not a substitute for the actual life I live.

I am human, a woman, a daughter and a friend. And a late bloomer learning things I should have before now. As I enter the twilight of my life, learning (or unlearning) is not easy but it is not a lackluster or mind numbing exercise, either.

Every day I realize that over my lifetime, I did not miss out on anything – even the things that I missed. That might sound contradictory but if you really think about it, you will understand. I feel good about my self-discoveries.

The realist that I am accepts that I may run out of time. However, it does not compel me to “rush it” or even panic.

My Wish

My wish is that our interaction, however brief or long, adds back to our lives and consciousness, in one form or other, what was lost along the way. In a wondrous way, I am still figuring out what it means to me.

If I cannot discover at least some of those lost possibilities in the context of my reality, then:

Who was I?

Baadaye

Shirley J ♥️

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Q&A Page Now open

Do you have an answer, or questions that I can answer for you? Here is the new Q&A page where you can ask me about my pilgrimage in Spain or life in my wood shop.

Of course, replies and questions can be left at related posts as always.

Thanks, Sj

Read the rest of the stories about my pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain:  here.

👣