Happy Holidays Family and Friends!

Whatever is beautiful,
Whatever is meaningful,
Whatever brings you happiness...
May it be yours this Holiday Season
and throughout the coming year!

This is my wish for you this holiday season, along with a warm greeting to say I am back on the road to enjoy more road adventures in 2016. 

I will begin the New Year traveling with my granddaughter, Shelby, to Boulder, Colorado. She will be attending Naropa University and I will be attending to my second book, which has been on hold for a few months. I hope to finish it by June and look forward to some mountain adventures in between chapters.

I look forward to being a nomad again, and sharing my adventures and stories with you. I have missed the southwest but totally enjoyed the seasons Michigan offers. I am also leaving with a deep appreciation for the Great Lakes, the small lakes and rivers that surrounded me this year.

This was a year of laughter and tears, losses and gifts. It was an intense year, and yet, I have never felt the love of family and friends as I have this year. In 2014, I lived the life of a free spirit, and learned how very important the present moment is ... actually, it is the only moment we have. 2015 gave me opportunities to continually live in the now and not get caught up with the uncertainties of tomorrow. 

I lived with my oldest daughter, Laura, her husband, Harold, and their daughters, Shelby, Elizabeth and Megan. Together, we experienced the truest and deepest meaning of family and I will forever cherish the time with

them. Our time together was a mix of transitions, loss, laughter, poignant moments, and challenges. In between, I was able to garden and plant flowers, something I really missed over the last couple of years. Between being with my family, tending to the flowers, and hanging out at  Lake Erie, I am ending the year richer and wiser than when it started. 

As you greet the close of 2015, be grateful to those who made your life more meaningful and your spirit more vibrant. Love, Elaine 

Adventures With Elaine # 13

Greetings  Family and Friends,  

I know I have not written since the holidays, but actually my life has been filled with many poignant moments, made up of challenges and gifts. I have been in Michigan since the New Year. Yes, I know I chose to be here during the very cold winter and was surprised to realize it actually did not bother me all that much.

                                                    

Actually, a lot of things have surprised me since the beginning of the year and I wanted to share some of the insights and wisdom that I have been blessed to receive. Last year as I traveled around the U.S. in a rather arbitrary fashion, I was really experiencing what it was like to be in the present moment. With a bit of disregard for plans and time lines, I felt an unaccustomed freedom and really enjoyed it. I had no idea what an important and life-changing experience I was giving myself. So, when 'life' called me to remain in Michigan for an indefinite amount of time, it was an easy decision.

I am learning that before freedom comes detachment. Conscious detachment really quiets the mind and opens the heart. Without the clutter and chatter of the mind, the heart becomes an empty vessel into which we can pour the desired and even the undesired moments of each day. In fact, with detachment, there is no 'desire or undesired' moments, there is just being!

My adventures over the past 18 months have brought me a sense of curiousness, peacefulness, tears, laughter, growth and gratitude. I have met the best and worst parts of myself and it's 'okay.' Today, I truly understand how healing it has been to embrace my wholeness. This is wisdom that came to me when I realized over the freezing winter months in Michigan that it does not matter so much what happens outside of me, as much as what happens inside of me.

Now it is springtime, my favorite season of the year. The beauty around me is less raw and certainly more colorful. Everything in the natural world is coming alive and in bloom. What a great time for us to also, bloom ... and go fishing!
                                                                                                                             
With Gratitude,
Elaine