owl & crow

I made this dream board on the Sunday full moon, also known as a strawberry moon because June is the month for harvesting strawberries. And strawberry fields abound in this part of North Carolina, where you can pick your own, and fill up a basket to later pile onto sweet biscuits and whipped cream or yogurt—Chloe’s and my favorite breakfast this time of year.

I’m ready to take a big bite out of the delicious summer days ahead: a visit from Diana and Elena, another trip to the Carolina coast with them, a trip to Lake Burton in Georgia for the 4th of July, a trip to see both of my sisters in exciting Wichita, Kansas! and soaking up that Cackilacky humidity all summer with the occasional thunderstorm (we had one last night) to break the torpor.

I was inspired to make this full moon dream board by Jamie Ridler, whose blog I follow and get inspiration from.  I couldn’t scan my dream board because it was too big and oddly shaped so I took a picture of it this morning on my back deck— those green leaves and purple flowers you see peeking around the top corners are not part of the board but somehow seem to fit in with the landscape I have envisioned. You would think I had no plans to work at all this summer and will spend my days idly reading books, sipping cups of tea, whispering sweet nothings, and traveling to Greece, France or sunning on a Caribbean island… well, maybe I will—in my dreams. (I recently went to Greece in a dream. I don’t know if it’s from living in a house with so much Greek color and flavor due to the owners’ heritage, or because I have been steeped in and writing about Greek goddesses for a project I’m working on, or that it’s an omen that I will be going some time; who knows when?)

To me, this dream board suggests a state of mind that I have already been cultivating and floating in. The concept of “having less, being more” is a variation on a motto I came up with five years ago and have been trying to live by to “do less, be more.” Having less certainly seems to be the way of my life these days in terms of material things and spending, but I’m quite sure that in this economy I’m in good company, even if what each of us chooses to spend money on and how much we spend is relative. I have learned to be content with what I have and to enjoy a more wabi-sabi way of living. (And I’m in the perfect house for that. Thank you, Matt and Andrea.)

Despite what it looks like, I do hope to work more as a therapist soon. I have had almost a year of resting and relaxing (and sometimes panicking and freaking out), and I feel ready to bring some money in to help balance our life. Rob has been doing lots of gigs on the side to help us out while I have been jumping through hoops, and waiting, jumping through hoops and waiting, jumping through hoops, and waiting—did I mention jumping through hoops? — to get my license(s) to practice in North Carolina.

I had it in my mind that I was going to get my new license as a Licensed Professional Counselor soon after the board met on June 8-9. Turns out I was looking at last year’s schedule (how many times did I check that and not notice 2008?) This year the board meets on June 18-19. I was informed it will be another 2-4 weeks after that before I get my license in the mail (and no, I cannot call or email to find out if I received it—I must WAIT for the U.S. mail!) And that’s barring any unforeseen circumstances that would prevent me from getting it (horror! shudder!).

So, what’s a little more waiting while I continue to cultivate the attitude that has gotten me through thus far: relax, breathe, explore, enjoy life. After all, I got what I wished for. I wistfully claimed while still in California that I would love to have a year off from practicing as a therapist, a year for renewal and rebirth. The Universe granted my wish, but didn’t consult me on the way it was going to come about (I hate it when that happens! I so wanted to be in control of that!). Oh, yeah, and gratitude—another thing I’ve been cultivating in that little garden patch of my soul: Thank you for my messy, mysterious, ever-unfolding adventure of a life and all the riches – good health, happiness, the love of friends and family, enough to live on – that we (the Ladd 3) do enjoy.

As the great sage, Mick Jagger, reminds us: “You can’t always get what you want, But you get what you need.”

Tags: adventure, Greek goddess, life, strawberry moon, summer, travel, wabi sabi, waiting

This entry was posted by Stephanie on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 at 9:42 pm and is filed under personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.