wild peace

March 6, 2016 - Daily Notes

This morning I woke to the sound of a nautical church bell softly clanging in the distance and at the same moment I saw my iPhone screen light up with a text message from my friend Cicely.

"Soak up the wild peace of the island," she wrote.

Wild peace. These two words seem like opposites but when combined they form a radically new understanding, a deeper meaning, a richer reality. That is exactly what this island is. Wildly peaceful. Peacefully wild.

Her words were fitting, too, because I spent yesterday listening to fourteen TEDx talks in a row, live at Orcas Center, and the theme was "Best of Both Worlds : The Potential in Polarity." Among other things, I learned:

• Creativity is not a function of intelligence or IQ. It is a path that begins with mastering a craft, being willing to surrender preconceptions, and having some technique for looking inward. (Stephan Schwartz)
• Curiosity didn't kill the cat, it turned him into a panther. (Lily Fangz)
• The flow of energy through a system acts to organize that system and batteries that are not fully recharged are what drains off-grid solar power systems. (Eric Youngren)
• In contrast to a leaf, the internet is a toddler's toy. At the cellular level, plants look and act like people and galaxies. When you play back the recorded sound of a caterpillar crunching a leaf, plants literally cringe. (Robert Dash)
• Music is the space between the notes. (Jake Perrine)
• Enlightenment is an inherently destructive process; psilocybin and other psychedelic compounds may play an important role in enhancing mental health and creativity. (Katherine McLean)
• The voice in the Mackelmore Thriftshop chorus, "I'm gonna pop some tags, only got $20 in my pocket," is actually a unicorn. (Mike "The Wanz" Wansley) 
• "Speak to them from your heart," are the words of advice a native elder gave to a member of the Tulalip, Apache and Yaqui just before she gave her TEDx talk (Deborah Parker)

Today I spent three hours hiking around Mountain Lake, quietly absorbing what I'd learned. I felt my own heart there, in the trees.

After visiting a beautiful property where we may hold a retreat for Lucia in the autumn, I took the turn for Mount Constitution and drove to the lookout where I paused for a moment. I wanted to quietly, soulfully, intentionally honor my birthday. To smile and celebrate being alive, while no one was looking.

We must honor these milestones in life. Even if things don't look the way we expected they would. We must be willing to surrender our preconceived notions, look inward, stay curious, trust nature, listen to the silence, fall apart completely, recharge our batteries fully, know we are unicorns, and speak from our hearts.

I cannot wait to spend another year sharing inspiration and connecting. My birthday candle wishes tonight (thanks to several incredible new women friends here) included an old one and a bold one: world peace and wild peace. We'll see if it all comes true. Thank you for being part of Lucia.

xo
laura

small significance

March 4, 2016 - Daily Notes

There is a big windstorm on Orcas Island tonight. It arrived with me at midday, a fitting metaphor. I watched a crow fly sideways past the iconic red-paint "ORCAS" letters on ferry terminal building and I wondered, "what does it mean?"

I don't know. It is a small thing, a lone black bird facing a strong wind. It is also significant. Everything here is.

Rain pelts my window and the candle I carried from home flickers softly. A flashlight the innkeepers brought stands ready, "In case the power goes out," they said. I forgot my coat at home, but remembered tea lights and the glass candleholder. Small, significant.

I came here to move slowly for a few days and to listen. It's harder to do than we think, you know? Slowing down, tuning inward, I mean. When was the last time you heard your own heartbeat? Soft, powerful. Small, significant.

Darvill's Bookstore here on Orcas Island has the most beautiful view of any bookstore I've ever seen. Better than Shakespeare & Company with its view of Notre Dame. That gorgeous cathedral cannot compare to the majesty of nature here. These islands with their cedars rise up from the waters of the sea like tiny emerald jewels in a pave globe of the world. Small, significant.

I ducked into Darvill's to escape the windstorm and buy coffee at their espresso bar. They serve Batdorf & Bronson, which I'm sure if you're a hipster means something cool, but to the synapses in my brain all that matters is the last time I was here the coffee was so good I've dreamed about it ever since. Small, significant.

I met the owner of the bookstore and showed her Lucia. She was warm. She said, "I heard you were coming." You did? "Yes, a friend told me, I can't remember who...anyway, someone told me you were coming this weekend." She opened Lucia and read a page in the middle. She picked up her phone and called her distributor while I stood there. She placed a standing order for Lucia. Three copies to begin. Just like that. Small, significant.

Tomorrow, I get to attend the TEDx Orcas Island conference. The theme is "Best of Both Worlds : The Potential in Polarity." I look forward to hearing new ideas, meeting people, and gifting my brain with the opportunity to grow a little more for my forty-first birthday.

Like a crow flying sideways in a windstorm, I am not sure exactly why I am here or where I am going. But my wings are spread wide and I'm flying. Small, significant.

xo
laura

lucia and orcas island. fast and slow.

“There is an ancient conversation going on between mosses and rocks, poetry to be sure, light and shadow and the drift of continents.”

— Robin Wall Kimmerer

March 3, 2016 - Daily Notes, From the Editor

My 41st birthday is Monday. I'm taking myself to Orcas Island for the long weekend because I want to go slow. 

There is also a TEDx event there on Saturday, "The Potential in Polarity," which feels important, especially now. Opposites are so much alike you know. Slow, fast. Fast, slow. It's time, it's all time.  

On Sunday I will take Lucia to Darvill's Bookstore and see if they'd like to carry it. I'll get a cup of the most divine espresso I have ever tasted with a view of Eastsound waters, distant cedars, huge rocks and maybe sky, depending on the Pacific Northwest weather. I'll drive past Mount Constitution and meet with the proprietors of a breathtaking private property...beautiful little cottages where we are considering hosting a Lucia girlfriends' retreat in the fall.

But mostly, I will try to move slow. The last year flew by. I'm 40? What? Wait...no, now I will be 41. There is an urgency that arrived with this decade. If you've already reached it, you know. We are still young, so young that septuagenarians call us "babies." We may be youthful but there is also a burgeoning awareness of the quickening pace of time. The preciousness of this one wild life we get to live becomes heart-achingly clear. Twenties and thirties allowed for meandering. Now, purpose is calling and we can no longer ignore the ringing phone. We have to pick it up. We have to listen.

Issue Two of Lucia came out this week and with this second issue comes a deep, personal questioning for me. Where do we go from here? What will come next? How will we make this business sustainable? How will we grow? What is most important? What needs to be let go? Where can we afford to explore? Where must we be focused? How do I do this?

Part of what I'm challenged with is revenue. I go back to the purpose, the real heart of why I started Lucia in the first place, and it is about inspiring and enlightening one another by giving voice to the heart...connecting. This happens in small ways, I think. Circles of friends, artists, writers, explorers. It happens when we allow ourselves the luxury of moving slow. Even for a weekend.

I am exploring the possibility of hosting weekend workshops and retreats, as part of Lucia's mission and expansion. I'll share more as things unfold. This weekend, I hope you will join me in moving slowly. Time gets slippery when we move fast. Slow down, be turtle-like. 

More soon from magical Orcas Island. 

xo
laura