i believe it is time to write something. so, let me tell you about august.
such a busy month, this past august. i drove many miles and visited with friends, some not seen for months, even years. and that was good. it was particularly good to renew my friendship with j, who has emerged reborn from the the crucible of illness and toxic psychotropic drugs. i cannot express the depth of my admiration for and pride in her! have you ever heard the expression, "pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps?" i have, and never really understood the amount of strength of will, dedication, and just sheer hard work that it encompasses. until now.
you amaze me, dear woman!
so. seeing my friends was wonderful. and then there was rowe...
rowe camp and conference center is a piece of heaven on earth, located in the foothills of the berkshire mountains in massachusetts. it is actually an intentional community, and supports itself through the weekend conferences, child and adult summer camps, and personal retreats it offers. all of rowe's programs are holistically and spiritually based. people who have attended these programs often speak of rowe as a "magical" place, a place to reconnect with yourself and with God/dess within you. you can check it for yourself at http://www.rowecenter.org.
i went with the intention of working there for a week, hoping that i would be accepted as a work-study for the usual period of three months. what i really want to do is live and work there full time, for as long as i need to be there, and for as long as i feel i should be there. and after the awesome week i spent there, that desire has only been strengthened.
let me say that while i did, and do still, feel that rowe is for me, living there full-time is not for everyone. it is literally a retreat from the world. there's effectively no cell service. the internet is accessible, but only from a single, commonly-used comp. the closest city is two mountains and 20+ miles away (north adams, mass.). but it is wonderful; beautiful; magical; healthy for mind, body and spirit--i can attest that it absolutely does live up to its rep.
so...i'm very disappointed to say that i'm not going, right now at least. i don't know whether it's because i'm not ready, there's still too much here for me to take care of, the people there just don't like/want me...or maybe a combination of all of the above. i don't know. there's information that i don't have, but that i need, to decide if i want to try again to be accepted.
so, as i try to make that decision, wish me well ...and i will do the same for you.
