The van is fixed!! A bad ground was the problem. Now it's a good ground. So happy to have had the recommendation to go to Dave at Courtenay Car Centre, who was kind, helpful, curious about my journey, and considerate in his billing! Now just waiting to hear back from all the people I'm hoping to visit on Vancouver Island, and off I go!! |
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Sometimes, when you just get flying and it all feels so good and you think, "This is it, this is that path that has heart," you suddenly fall flat on your face. Everybody's looking at you. You say to yourself, "What happened to that path that had heart? This feels like the path full of mud in my face." It's like someone laughing in your ear, challenging you to figure out what to do when you don't know what to do. It humbles you. It opens your heart. Ah, life's ironic lessons! There's nothing like a few major setbacks to make you realize that, despite your best intentions, you actually were still trying to plan and control the outcome, even when you thought you had let go and were going with the flow! So...Arjenna makes her first stop on the journey at her friend Mike's, in Merville. Time to deal with the tired battery that needs to be replaced so the van will be ready for its cross-continent tour. A quick stop at Canadian Tire to purchase the battery, installation of the battery by friends (WHY does Chevy put the battery UNDER the relay fuse box where you can hardly see it, nevermind access it??), and... we're good to go! Here's the sound of Arjenna starting up the van with its new battery: "____________." That's right. Nothing. Well, not entirely true...it started up the first time. More reluctantly the second time. The third time it said, "Forget it. I'd like to stay here in Mike's driveway, so you can learn some lessons about letting go, controlling the outcome, needing to be successful, and about stress, anxiety, fear, frustration, and trust." Here's the sounds of Arjenna responding with grace and patience to her first setback: "@#$%&!!" In retrospect, I DID say that I wanted to meet myself on this journey. Damn it. Well, here I am. A somewhat stressed ball of nerves, trying to let go and realize that MY plans are not always the best plans, nor possibly even necessary. I did want to practise being in the present moment on this trip. A friend suggested to me, weeks ago, that instead of constantly thinking ahead to the rest of the trip and to the unknowns, and worrying about how things would come together, I could instead say to myself each day: "Today I am taking a trip from ______ to _______." From Sointula to Campbell River. From Nanaimo to Vancouver. From Portland to San Francisco. Only today. Today I am here, travelling between these places, experiencing this area and these people and this weather. Well, today I am taking a trip from Merville to Merville. Today I am at Mike's house. Today I am blogging, and sorting through my stuff in the van, and watching the rain. Today I am waiting. Tomorrow I will be taking the van to a mechanic in Courtenay and hoping they can fix it easily and cheaply! But that's tomorrow. :) So lovely to have friends with skills! Over the past week the van has come together. Thanks you to John S. for so generously spending time and energy on getting this van ready and helping me with all the vehicle details! Thank you Grant M. for brainstorming and building the bed and table for me - it is exactly what I was hoping for! Thanks to Jon T. for graciously allowing me to be a hands-on builder in the process of putting shelving into the back, and for all the other little details and suggestions.
I am now, finally, getting excited about this trip! Who wouldn^t be, with a vehicle like this!!! |
Arjenna StrongGetting set to travel from the north end of Vancouver Island to who knows where. A compulsive planner and organizer who is trying to let go and go where the wind takes her. Perhaps down the west coast along the ocean into the southern states. Hopefully somewhere warm. Seeing how long the money holds out. Returning back to Ontario for awhile at some point. Archives
February 2015
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