I had this past week all planned out. Last weekend was the Celebrate Your Life Retreat in Skamania WA and the perfect opportunity to get some of my writing, that is piling up, done. Wrong…. This is not a retreat center although it certainly could be, it is a resort. They filmed an episode of the Bachelorette here, had four weddings the first two days I was there, kids running and playing, dogs barking and chasing balls, hundreds of folks enjoying the mountain air, the Columbia River Gorge and all the hiking, biking and outdoors fun one could conjure up. Not exactly the quiet writing retreat I thought I was gifting myself when I added five extra days to the event.
Change of plans. Whoo-hoo, I can change my mind and I didn’t get into any trouble, no penalties for early withdrawal. I packed up Monday morning and headed back south, the computer never making it out of my suitcase the five days I was there. I ended up visiting friends I hadn’t seen in years and what a gift I received in an overnight with breakfast and lunch and backgammon (and $2.00 in quarters won), 😊 great conversation with a binge night of watching Bridgerton (I think that was the name of the series, it was 5:00 am when I hit the hay).
Leaving Eugene, I made my way to Florence, OR and I am writing to you all tonight listening to the sound of the ocean and basking in the energy of the setting sun, sand, and surf.
Do you find that in life, you sometimes just get thrown an unexpected curveball? You thought sure that guy was throwing in a fastball and your intention was to knock it out of the park? Not the pitchers plan as that curveball zipped right past you through the strike zone and into the catcher’s mitt.
Whatcha gonna do, throw the bat down or stand back up there in the batters box and get ready for the next pitch? Just like my best laid plans to write in the “quiet” seclusion of the Columbia River Gorge didn’t pan out, perhaps this tiny room with a little table overlooking the Pacific Ocean will fill the gap between Skamania and home.
Spirit put the right people in my path to encourage me to take the right turns and continue with my actual goal of writing and let go of the destination it was to happen in. My dear friend Beth called out of the blue and left a beautiful voice message filled with encouragement and love. Another long-time friend told me about the Driftwood Shores and here I am… maybe for a night and maybe for the rest of the week. Time will tell if this is a trip of unexpected adventures or if I have settled in to the plan of writing.
I am the first to admit that I suffer from shiny object syndrome. I brought my everyday little Canon camera, my good Nikon, and of course my cell phone. I had planned to do a nature photography hike as part of the Celebrate Your Life event. No camera card in the little Canon, battery refused to hold a charge and the Nikon wouldn’t even turn on. There I was left to wonder why the heck I had packed all this photography stuff, tripods and all, when the goal all along was to write?
Spirit got a good giggle out of that one as I was left with my cell phone for a nature hike that was way too long and hilly for this old lady with bad knees. Walking poles in hand, I made it to the healing with horses experience. Perhaps that, with the wonderful message I received Monday morning from Dougall Fraser’s reading, was all I needed to complete that event and get myself to a place where I could actually slow my active mind and sore body down to a writers pace.
And here I am writing to you all listening to the tides roll in waiting to see if am blessed with a peak at the moon tonight.
There is a powerful energy that is waiting to be accessed when I accept what was happening and let go of that original expectation. The journey I thought I was on as opposed to the one I am trekking now, creating a whole new set of circumstances that hold a brand new outcome and opportunity for me.
That is what happened this week when life threw me a curveball. I’m here to tell you, the next swing won’t be a miss, but a homer right over left center and out of the park. Can you see me pointing up and out there? Here’s to you Babe Ruth!
Not only was I gifted a wake-up call (camera malfunctions=distractions recognized from the plan), but I ended up the recipient of some wonderful surprises along the way.
Heads up next time a curve ball gets thrown your way. Take a deep breath, open your mind and step into gratitude, as a new and probably unexpected experience or opportunity comes hurling your way.
I’ll let you know next week how this week totally unfolded from the river gorge to ocean side, back down through Mt Shasta and into the central valley (ugh heat) again.
I’m writin’on folks and wishing you all Happy Trails and curve balls to excite you, body, mind, heart, and soul…
A tiny tidbit of wisdom… sometimes you have to track your joy, write it down. Live into the answer and don’t give up on the curveballs.
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Vicki Dobbs is a bold and adventurous warrior walking a path of heart to manifest spirituality in everyday lives. She opens existential gateways for individuals to face their challenges and embrace these tests as the great teachers that they are.
Her goal is to see everyone walk in beauty and balance every day of their lives empowered by the voice of their own authentic truth.
Through Wisdom Evolution and Sacred Wisdom Workshops, Vicki creates opportunities for others to make deep personal changes through experiential classes, ceremony, sacred art and story. She endeavors to inspire others to create their lives intentionally. Vicki is an Inspirator of everyday awareness, an Instigator of spontaneous stories and a Connoisseur of Creativity. Gratitude and grace sprinkled with humility and humor are the medicine she brings to the world.
As an Elder, Teacher and Entrepreneur, Spiritual Coach, Ordained Minister and Crafter of Sacred Art and Tools, Vicki perceives life’s journey as an ever-upward spiraling ascension of the human spirit leading her to wisdom, wholeness and authenticity.
Her experience includes being trained in the Harner Method of Shamanic Counseling and the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition of Cross Cultural Shamanism. She is a Graduate Teacher and Mentor with the Lynn Andrews Center For Sacred Arts and Training and has been the Administrator and Writers Guide for Writing Spirit, the School.
Vicki is also an Artist of the Spirit Certified Spiritual and Energetic Life Coach, a Graduate Mentor in the AoS program and a founding member of HeatherAsh Amara’s Warrior Goddess Leadership Team and Facilitator of the Warrior Heart Practice.
Connect with Vicki here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vickildobbsauthor
