Space.. the final frontier. These are the voyages of my mind. Things became hectic and I missed a few weeks updating this blog. I had a few technical issues editing the podcast just as life kicked into overdrive. It is now six months later and I am just getting back to editing the interviews for the podcast.
I checked the stats for the podcast a few days ago. I had not looked at it in months. The podcast has had between 40 and 75 downloads a day for months! The long promised Jose Ravenwing interviews will begin uploading this week.
I was in New York in March for a few weeks. I was doing insurance inspections after big storms tore up Long Island. From the moment I was given the assignment, I was on a dead run with little sleep. I flew out of Phoenix the next day and landed with an hour left of St. Patty’s' Day. By 8am I was climbing a ladder to inspect a roof. The next five days are a blur of roofs, reports, downed trees, rain, bad GPS directions, rain, fast food, rain... There came a point where I was ready to fly home and my pay became messed up. No money! I spent three days living in a rented SUV with no money and nowhere to go. This would have been the perfect time to reflect on the Divine Now. It rained hard every day. The wind blew. Instead of seeing the sights, I saw rain. I was on Long Island and am pretty sure it is beautiful. "Pretty sure" because all I saw was a hard driving rain.
One afternoon I was so bored I sat in the SUV watching shopping carts roll around a mall parking lot. The mall was on a hill and the lot had an angle to it. People came out of the store and left carts next to their cars when finished. The carts were caught by the wind and rolled down the hill. This was an affluent area and the carts seemed to know what each car costs. Carts build up speed going downhill and stop short of the 1984 Chevette. Seconds later the cart turns hard left and slams into a shiny 2010 BMW. Cart after cart, Escalade after Porsche, the day wore on. I will skip the Karmic lesson.
Even with this grand entertainment, all I could think of was home. 3000 miles away and dry as a bone, Picture Rocks AZ was where my heart lay. Home seemed like a great idea. In New York, I found the best radio station I have ever heard: 101.9 WRXP FM. That station RULES!!! The song "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros had just come out. It was on at least once an hour and reinforced my focus. I missed my wife most of all. The voice from the radio sang “Ahh home, let me come home. Home is wherever I’m with you.” Every place I saw made me want to come back with my family and enjoy it with them.
My money was still messed up, but I came up with enough for a ticket from JFK to Phoenix. I returned the SUV and showed up in the airport 24 hours before my flight was due to leave. What I did not understand is that you are not allowed to pass through to the flight area until the day of your flight. This was about 3pm the day before. I slept on a heat vent until the next morning. For four days I had no shower, no bed, my phone died and yet a strange peace had settled. The world began to look like a very different place. Displaced and disconnected, I saw people that are like me, but are not MY people. I spoke to no one. “Ahh home, let me come home…”
Once on the plane, I resorted to my standard flight habit. I fell asleep and stayed asleep as long as I could. When I couldn't sleep I pretended to sleep. I sat in coach between two chatty, happy people. Once home, I slept for three days. I wasn't tired: I was burned out. Burned out, but HOME.
Check out the podcast here.http://aldeamark.hipcast.com/rss/the_divine_now.xml
May the Lord bless and keep you.
Mark
