This is the quote that has inspired me for this month of… September… Ahhhh… my favourite… The weather is absolutely gorgeous here in the Baix Empordá at the moment…
I know I’ve written about Home before… but Home is a big theme whose scope is wide… Deep enough to warrant delving into again and again…
I was away for the month of August, escaping extreme heat while hanging out with some of my Soul sisters, on Vancouver island, BC.
Most of Spain closes down for the month of August, and many of my clients take their summer holidays then too.. So things are generally quieter for me work-wise.
This year in particular, it was time for me to rest… in all of the senses described above.
The perfect time to take a break:
My 90 year old father’s care was in good hands:
As my nephew (who has professional experience, and is a natural when it comes to Elder-care) was staying with him, plus a few other staff were hired, so things were stable and I could trust that emergencies would be covered in my absence.
But most importantly, my husband had finished his cancer treatment and was doing well…. He had some big decisions to make about the next stages for cancer prevention, and now had access to some excellent resources. He was ready to navigate being in a foreign country without needing me to facilitate or translate…
He was in good hands with neighbours and friends all offering to come to his aide should he need “Cualquier cosa”… anything at all. Really, this says so much about how you know that you’re really “Home”: In less than 3 years, we’ve truly made some good friends; we’ve a mutual support system in place that feels… well, perfectly comfortable! So it was time for me to Self-Care… and Rest was the first priority. Inspiration about next steps being my next priority…
- Physical rest: Some days, I just saw a few clients online for a few hours… But I essentially slept whenever I felt like it.
- Silence as rest: On the Oyster River in BC, the silence of the trees, the calming sound of the river running through my girlfriend’s property all night and day… was just the medicine I needed for a reset.
- Solitude as rest: There was no one making any demands of me (in any language!), at any hour of the day.
- Creative recovery by doing nothing: After nearly 3 years of crisis-fighting, doing nothing was my main ‘agenda’, so to speak. To paraphrase the poet David Whyte, ‘Exhalation before inspiration’)… I exhaled and exhaled and exhaled… until inspiration just came… In time, I cooked for my friends, I wrote a little, and painted with my hostess… in a beautiful home, built by our husbands, 40 years ago!
A lot of personal work goes on underneath the surface, but nevertheless takes energy… digesting experiences, events, traumas, milestones, deaths and other losses… adjusting to changes… Catching up with one’s self requires time, and space, stillness and quiet…
So, when I returned home on September first, and came across that quote about the 4 tanks of rest that need to be filled… I checked myself internally and… yes. Mission accomplished. And it’s good to be home…
Images by Catriona O’Curry
About the Author: Catriona O'Curry
