Dressed to Swag-Kill

I learned a new descriptive phrase the other night while out with our recently-founded walkers' group at Pacific Gardens - swag-kill.

For months several of us had been saying, "We really must get more exercise.  Maybe we should start a walking group."

Alas, the feet never seemed to get off the ground, until Bill put on his boots and just started doing it.

At 7:30 pm most nights of the week, he would walk out the door and explore the roads, lanes, cul-de-sacs - and yes, hills - in our neighbourhood.

Soon Sharon joined him, and then me.  First it was only for a half-hour, then 45 minutes, and now we walk and talk for a good hour or more.

It's amazing how fast the time goes when you're with friends, and how many people we meet and greet while we're on our way.

Perhaps it's the illuminated safety vests (acquired by Sharon at a thrift shop) that makes our little group stand out.  It's hard to miss seeing us, that's for sure.

One night while we were on our usual evening jaunt two young men approached Sharon and asked her where she got the vests.

"Those are really swag-kill," they told her. I had to check it out - were they saying we were some kind of fashionistas?

According to the Urban Dictionary, swaggerists - people like us who wear swag-kill outfits - are beautiful people and classy in any/all situations.

That description certainly fits - and it's enough incentive to keep me walking!

Kathryn

That's why I'm here

Yikes!  It's been almost a week since I last posted.  It's been too hot...at least that's my excuse. Today we're supposed to have a thunder-storm - a rare event on Vancouver Island - and it's not the first. The weather's been crazy everywhere.  Climate change is happening, and what we're seeing this summer is only the beginning.

It was my concern about climate change that was the major deciding factor when I joined the group that was developing Pacific Gardens.  If I was going to be living in a world shaken by the effects of a changing climate, I wanted to be in a caring, supportive community, where we looked out for each other.

Most importantly, I wanted to be with people who had the imagination and wherewithal to look at different ways of living - growing our own food, recycling, bicycling, walking and car-pooling to places, sharing resources, reducing consumption, making our own entertainment and fun, networking with others to build on what we have.

I haven't been disappointed. Yes, we have struggles and conflicts, just like any other group of people, but because we share a common vision of a better world, we try to solve them. And as I look out my living-room window at the multitude of beautiful flowers and fruits and vegetables growing in people's gardens, watch the myriad butterflies and the birds, and hear the children playing, Pacific Gardens seems like an oasis of tranquility in this troubled old world.

And that's why I'm here.

Kathryn

My sacred body

As I created a title for a new blog post, I chuckled when I noticed that I'd transposed the letters, and had typed My scared body.

That typo probably says it all. I used to be afraid.

As I have settled into supportive communities in Nanaimo, love, peace and joy have flowed in and replaced fear.

One of the developments I have noticed is how much I have been drawn to physical activity and how much I have been enjoying my body.

Last week I moved to a house from which I can walk to most amenities that I need. It has been a tremendous pleasure to walk. I enjoy the sensation of walking. I'm grateful for my comfortable shoes and for a body that is healthy enough to walk. When I walk, I notice so many things about my neighbourhood that would not be visible from a car.

Recently I joined a Tai Chi class, and have been enjoying the slow, gentle, but surprisingly demanding, movements.

Yesterday, Everybody Sings resumed after the Christmas and New Year break. It was delightful to participate once again in the lively singing, clapping and dancing. Shirley said it reminded her of kindergarten, and Ian said it reminded him of summer camp when he'd been a teenager. It sure is fun to be transported back to kindergarten or summer camp as an adult, or to experience them for the first time if you missed out as a kid.

Last night I tried Sacred Circle Dancing for the first time. I found it peaceful, meditative and grounding. I especially liked the fact that there was very little talking, and we dancers just gave ourselves over to the soft music and flowing movement.

Our Sacred Circle Dance teacher, Maureen Wild, said that dancing helped us to be conscious of our bodies, to feel connected to the planet and nature, and to experience ourselves as something other than "a head on a stick."

Food has taken on a new dimension for me too. I have just taken a break from typing and eaten a perfectly ripe tomato. As I sank my teeth into its juicy, red flesh, I reveled in the delicious taste. I was conscious of the earth, water, air and sunlight that had poured themselves into the tomato plant. I appreciated the tomato for giving up its life to sustain mine.

I am experiencing myself as a sacred being, sharing my life with other sacred beings, in a sacred time and space.

My scared self, in the meantime, seems to have kicked off her shoes and joined the dance.