Notes From a RESET LIFE

It's been about a month since I moved to Sedona Arizona.  I did not know anyone, have a job or a place to live.  I wanted to see what would happen and so the experiment began.  Currently I am in what I would call the 'silly putty phase'.  The phase where everything  melts into a puddle and stretches in strange directions.  Things feel weird and otherworldly.  I'll feel strange or sad, then go for a hike and feel better again.  I also feel joyful and grateful and amazed, but everything is a bit wobbly  because of all of the change.  Big transitions can be challenging, exciting, and confusing.  Here are a few things that have helped me keep a sense of equilibrium.​

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Suggestions for a Reset Life:
 1.  Leave home at least twice a day. 
2.  Go for a hike or a walk once a day.
3. Activities like cooking, sewing, reading are  helpful. 
4. Seek out settings with people: libraries, coffee shops etc. 
5.  Do not buy too many cookies.  If cookies are needed, do not also buy ice cream.
6.  Try attending social events, even random ones and just see what happens. 
7.  Pay attention to animals and insects. 
8.  Treat every human encounter as a potential for connection.

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Here's something that happened:
 I went on a hike, exploring this really beautiful trail that followed a river walled in by cliffs.  After a while the trail vanished, and the woods were full of thorny desert things, so I decide to walk in the creek.  Stepping into the water I heard a little sound, and looked up to see two river otters a few yards away.  Their heads were like a seal's, sleek and wet with dark inquisitive eyes.  One of them stretched its neck up, to get a better look at me.  Then they dove under water and were gone. 
​I sat on the shore for a long time, hoping to get another look at them, but they didn't show themselves again. 

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Here's something else:
 I've been going to the little farmers market here each week.  There's one very nice vegetable stand that has these crazy long cucumbers, and exotic regional vegis like okra and shiso peppers.  What I love about this stand is the way the vegetables are displayed with such care and love.  Little onions are gathered together in a half paper bag,  Melons laid out in cozy families on a table.  Baskets of squash and eggplants bunched by color.  Garlic stems tied together with sisal twine.   It is such a pleasure to look at all of the vegetables and to make choices about what to try.  I find also, that my feelings towards these vegetables are different than the ones I buy at the supermarket.  I take more time preparing them and eating them and I rarely let them go bad.  Is it possible that the care taken by the farmers has been transferred to me through the vegetables?  It certainly feels that way.   
 
That's all for now friends.  I'll check in again soon. 
Norina