Rain—the kind that just turns on and gushes out of the sky fast and hard—gets Dan out of bed at 5 a.m. to close the front door. Five minutes later, the rain shuts off just as fast. We linger in the darkness, lazy. There is no rush this morning, nowhere we have to be. Baxter moves up from the foot of the bed for his morning snuggles and Lucy flounces up minutes later.
The post rain clouds at dawn
The sun begins to warm things up
Today will be uneventful. For me, I am going to write that restaurant review. I have been planning on doing it all week, but moved it down the line for the video. I’ll read. Maybe I’ll walk the bike path along the coast if it isn’t raining.
Dan has been working every day for the last three to four weeks so he gets some downtime today. My guess is he’ll spend it on Facebook and gaming. He might play around in Illustrator. Although he does have to spend some time working on a graphic for a client, just some revisions so it shouldn't take all day.
We send love to our friends in Colorado who are already dealing with fires, one of them in our old neighborhood. I heard 10,000 acres were evacuated and people made it out safely. I don’t know the extent of the damage or if it’s put out yet but we hope folks are safe. Crazy world, between Japan and the fires in Colorado a lot of people are forced to restructure their lives.
The state tells us there are minuscule amounts of radiation in Hawaii’s air. A friend said she was sure there was more. She complained of feeling sick; having headaches and vomiting. She said her dog was sick too. Dan and I feel fine and we don’t know of anyone else who feels sick. So, for the moment, we aren’t stressing ourselves out about it.
I got this heartening email from my aunt. Someone sent it to her.
BELOVEDS,
Someone I am connected to in Japan sent this very touching letter on how the
Japanese people are "being with" their challenges. Beautifully inspiring.
Love to ALL,
from Yatra.
Hello My Lovely Friends,
First I want to thank you so very much for your concern for me. I am very
touched. I also wish to apologize for a generic message to you all. But it
seems the best way at the moment to get my message to you.
Things here in Sendai have been rather surreal. But I am very blessed to
have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since my shack is even more
worthy of that name, I am now staying at a friend's home. We share supplies
like water, food and a kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat
by candlelight, share stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful.
During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes. People sit
in their cars, looking at news on their navigation screens, or line up to
get drinking water when a source is open. If someone has water running in
their home, they put out sign so people can come to fill up their jugs and
buckets.
Utterly amazingly where I am there has been no looting, no pushing in lines.
People leave their front door open, as it is safer when an earthquake
strikes. People keep saying, "Oh, this is how it used to be in the old days
when everyone helped one another."
Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes. Sirens
are constant and helicopters pass overhead often.
We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it is for half
a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not yet come on. But all
of this is by area. Some people have these things, others do not. No one has
washed for several days. We feel grubby, but there are so much more
important concerns than that for us now. I love this peeling away of
non-essentials. Living fully on the level of instinct, of intuition, of
caring, of what is needed for survival, not just of me, but of the entire
group.
There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a mess in some
places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out drying in the sun.
People lining up for water and food, and yet a few people out walking their
dogs. All happening at the same time.
Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence at night. No cars.
No one out on the streets. And the heavens at night are scattered with
stars. I usually can see about two, but now the whole sky is filled. The
mountains are Sendai are solid and with the crisp air we can see them
silhouetted against the sky magnificently.
And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back to my shack to
check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since the electricity is on,
and I find food and water left in my entranceway. I have no idea from whom,
but it is there. Old men in green hats go from door to door checking to see
if everyone is OK. People talk to complete strangers asking if they need
help. I see no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or panic, no.
They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other major quakes, for
another month or more. And we are getting constant tremors, rolls, shaking,
rumbling. I am blessed in that I live in a part of Sendai that is a bit
elevated, a bit more solid than other parts. So, so far this area is better
off than others. Last night my friend's husband came in from the country,
bringing food and water. Blessed again.
Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there is indeed
an enormous Cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world
right at this moment. And somehow as I experience the events happening now
in Japan, I can feel my heart opening very wide. My brother asked me if I
felt so small because of all that is happening. I don't. Rather, I feel as
part of something happening that much larger than myself. This wave of
birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent.
Thank you again for your care and Love of me,
With Love in return, to you all,
Anne.
