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California, New Zealand. Two passports, two homelands. And detours.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

oh! you pretty things


I organised my own retreat this weekend to this place, my bed du jour, to have a think about life.
In the past the mattress and the view here have been a pretty scenic perch to work through big decisions. Which I seem to have a lot of right now.This is a studio in Curio Bay - about an hour from Invercargill - and besides having a bed made of driftwood, separated from the beach only by a sliding glass door, it has the best power shower in the world, a jar of coffee beans next to a grinder in the top cupboard, and a really great stereo system, with a stack of scratched-up CDs, the best of which - in my extensive research throughout Saturday evening, with a leftover birthday bottle of Pinot gris - was a '96 David Bowie greatest hits album.
 
I actually don't know Bowie that well. But the more I gazed out to the horizon and gave deep and reflective thought to the big questions in my life that seem to require an immediate decision from me, the more compelled I was to swan back over to the stereo and press repeat on track 4.

During my retreat, no cell phone, no internet,  I listened to the ocean, watched half of Midnight in Paris, slept for ten hours, became a big Bowie fan, and I don't know at exactly what point the switch finally flipped, but driving back home on Sunday I felt a lot of hope about whatever is on that big fat beautiful horizon.

So no epiphanies for me this weekend. Just rest. Which was maybe what I really needed.

Anyway, track 4, going out to all you overthinkers...

 
 

1 comment:

  1. I read this post a while back. Like everything I see from you, I wanted to see it as soon as I could. I didn't watch the video then, but I did just now. It is pretty amazing. I don't know much about David Bowie except that I was never surprised that he was famous.
    I've always been an 'overthinker'. Over thinking and over analyzing have always been my way of coping with the crazy storms that life blows my way. I tend to long for the lulls and retreats to sit back and take inventory. This year has been especially tempestuous. That's right. Say that 3 times really fast. Whether it has to do with destiny or prophecy, this year has been huge for decisions. So I hope as refreshed as you were after your retreat, you have had a pretty smooth transition onto or over that bright horizon. It makes me feel good to know that you're out there.
    I can't believe that no one else has commented on this post. It's a great one. Keep them coming.
    Take care.

    A.

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