I wonder if I am believing my own hype about being an adventurous soul. My plan to take off in my Prius to video tape creative folks around the country making a difference their communities seemed so much easier to me six months ago.
Now, I’m wondering about a variety of things. Should I have my cataract lenses checked to make sure they are in pristine condition for driving and seeing long distances? How can I fit healthy eating and exercising in while traveling from place to place? What about bed bugs in motels—how do I prevent that?
Then there are the technological challenges. I’ve not operated a video recorder or light meter before. I need to learn at least some basic editing so I can do a first cut to reduce editing costs. I also have to set up and maintain an active social media connection to give the project some visibility. The videos will be part of the resources available to folks on our website, www.operationbonappetit.org and FaceBook to enable them to join us in “changing the world one dinner party at a time”. The thought of all this planning and preparation is a bit daunting.
So why am I doing this? After Brower, my husband, died from Alzheimer’s the end of May; I decided to focus my next 20 years on doing only that which gives me joy—as much as I can. Twenty years is how much longer I expect to live in good health given the genes on my dad’s side of the family. Then, I’ll host my Transition to the Great Beyond Party.
Aside from being with family and friends, nothing gives me greater joy than connecting with folks, who are pursuing their passions to make the world better and being successful at it. Sharing their stories, I believe, will inspire others to be enlightened and/or engaged in doing something themselves. So despite my daughters’ and son’s qualms about their 75 year old mother going on the road, I am determined to do it. I have also given myself plenty of time for planning and preparation by setting a departure date of March 21st.
To make the videos more fun for me, the interviewee, and the viewer, we’ll mix in a bit of cooking and wine sipping. The main ingredient, though, will be the story of how folks followed their passions and overcame obstacles to realize their dreams to improve the wellbeing of humanity and the planet. However, I do like food and wine so it is natural that following my joy includes both. Even to motivate myself to begin to write this blog, I put on a pot of red chili to simmer(recipe follows), opened a bottle of red wine to breathe, and promised myself that I can partake of both when I finish this blog even if it is only 3:30 in the afternoon.
I have also taken a first step to shore up my courage for this adventure by purchasing a 2 ½ foot tall purple wooden camel. I was not intentionally seeking something to give me courage when I walked into the store. I was just drawn to the camel, which I originally thought was a giraffe—an animal I consider far more beautiful than a camel.(For some mysterious reason my camel will not stand up in his photo) My ability to distort reality sometimes even astonishes me. When I found out my mistake it was too late, I had walked around the store with the camel in my basket and gotten attached to it. It sounds weird but it seemed to have a sweet personality. It turns out, though, that a camel totem is a sign of successful journeys even in the harshest environments.
So, I am interpreting my unusual attraction to the camel as a sign of encouragement from the Universe to continue my planning and preparations. Initially I considered taking the camel with me on my journey. However, since my journey will have a good chunk of alone time, I am afraid that I will become too attached to the camel as my traveling companion—something like Tom Hanks did with Wilson the soccer ball in the Castaway movie. That really would be weird and, perhaps, I would even be certifiably crazy.
With the Universe in my corner, I am moving on with my plans to host a dinner party next Friday for a few expert advisors, who will be guiding me on my video equipment purchases and lining up editing/shooting tutoring for me.
Meanwhile, there is wine and chili to enjoy.
[ultimate-recipe id=”7045″ template=”101″]