Hike pictures

Here are a few pics from the aforementioned hike.

Em wondered if her face was red from exertion. Looked fine to me.

I love the sunset setting on my camera. The image is zoomed in here.
Yes, that really was the color!

Me on a windy ridge, hat just ripped form my head so ya"ll can see my new blond hair.

We ended up with a group of 10 and met up on the trail with Karen who also had a large group. We had a great time.

Moonlight Magic

I'm having a lazy Friday morning. I thought I'd "keep up" with my regular blogging routine. (Anyone noticing a pattern?)

Tonight I'm going on a full moon hike. I used to go ever so often when I lived in the local mountains but hadn't been in years. I went in May and loved it so much. It felt sacred. I made a commitment to go four months in a row so tonight will be my third trip. My kids have gone with me the last two times and tonight em and her kids are planning to go. My hiking buddy, Karen, is coming and bringing a few others so we'll have a bonafide "group" tonight.

I call it a Full Moon Hike but a more accurate term might be a sunset/moonrise hike. From the trailhead it's about an hour hike to this magical spot on the ridge of a mountain. On the night of the full moon the sun sets in the west and the moon rises in the east very close to the same time. The sunsets are gorgeous and when that big full moon comes up over the next faraway ridge it just takes my breath away! I feel so connected to everything.

We usually stay up there for a while then make our way back down the trail. That moonlight is so bright that even though we bring flashlights, the kids and I opt to hike by the light of the moon only. It gets a bit tricky when the trail curves around a hill and blocks the light or when you get into heavy tree cover but that is half the fun. Your eyes adjust if you give them a chance so it's not like you're plunged into total darkness.

I'm looking forward to this adventure and it's worth the four hour round trip drive to experience true magic.

Competent?

Does anyone out there have it all together? I mean, is there anyone who cruises through life and feels competent? And even if there does, indeed, seem to be such a person, is there any validity there?

Here's why I am asking. I used to think such people existed but now I doubt that it's even possible. I believe that EVERYONE has places where they feel incompetent and some of us have a lot of such places.

I met someone that I thought had it together pretty well - my acting teacher. You should see her teach! She was so useful to so many people on so many different levels. She took them/us to places that were so compelling and seemed so incredibly useful that I marveled. She was in total command of that space.

Then I saw her act. Again I was blown away at her skill level and what she could reveal through her work. It was like being transported to another dimension where every line, every expression, every movement brought some kind of understanding of basic human nature. This may seem excessive and over the top but that was my experience.

Last weekend I went to a fundraising party that was put on to help cover the expenses to take a three person Macbeth performance that she has directed and acts in to England and Scotland. Em and I went and saw it last month and really enjoyed it.

So here's the thing. She's a powerful actor and teacher but I couldn't believe how uncomfortable she seemed when it came to one on one interactions. She seemed nervous, awkward and really out of her element. I was having a good time and she would come up and apologize that it was so boring. They had these really funny comedians, friendly people, good food and drink etc yet it seemed like she felt it was inadequate. This all surprised me. Where was the commanding presence I was used to?

Em would talk about how often a person's outsides didn't always reflect their insides. People often only show what they want the world to see so consequently we often think that that person over there is happier, smarter, more secure or whatever than we are. We know what a mess we are but don't always see that reflected in others. That's one reason I love Al anon. People share their less than perfect interior selves and you feel a lot less alone.

I'll leave you with a joke told by a lesbian comedian that night. She goes to Planned Parenthood for a breast exam. They ask a bunch of sexual activity type questions and she finally has to tell them she's gay when they get on her case because she said yes, she's sexually active but no, she doesn't use birth control.

Before she leaves she's given a care package that contains the Plan B pill (morning after pill) She tells them she has no need for it but they say take it just in case. She speculates; just in case of what? Then she says "Oh yeah, just in case I'm walking down the street and I slip and fall in a puddle of sperm!"

That really cracked me up.