Sometimes the universe keeps telling you (me) something and you (I) keep ignoring it ‘til it knocks you (me) on our ass.
When I’m not listening I usually get struck with a physical ailment that forces me to slow down and start paying attention.
The first time it happened was in 2017, when….
I got F*cked by a Mischievous Goblin
Have you ever been heading down the wrong path in life when a mischievous goblin in your garden causes you a life altering accident that lands you in the hospital having emergency surgery to insert a permanent metal rod in your leg and having to learn to walk again? Well I have.
…and ended up in a wheelchair/boot/crutches/cane for months.
In between pain management and physical therapy, I spent time in my garden, tuning into what herbs, poultices and foods would be most nourishing. I leaned into vulnerability. Let myself be nurtured by friends and lovers. Time slowed down. I got creative. Wrote poetry, watercolored, played with my cat, watched butterflies and hummingbirds flutter. I thought about being held in a state of chrysalis.
I filmed a short, Cello Dream, entirely on my iPhone, balancing on crutches and an ankle boot while acting as DP/Director/Producer. The physicality of pulling it off was a milestone in my healing journey. My friend Patrick Belaga, an enormously talented cellist, improvised the score one sunny afternoon in the garden.
The accident marked a major shift in my life, personally and professionally, as I learned to tune into my intuition and my body as a guide (or so I thought.) Since then, there’s been a few times when I’ve gotten ahead of myself, caught up listening to outside noise instead of my gut when the universe decides to trip me up.
But in the last few months it’s become ridiculous.
First, in early August, I…
Broke my toe in the Swedish Hamptons
Hej! Coming to you bruised, broken toe’d and tender from a small town on the Swedish coast where locals cruise in a bathrobe. The older yours is, the chicer, like English aristos with sweaters in need of a good darning.
…it took the rest of August and most of September to heal. Did I slow down? No, I pushed ahead, impatient to (literally) hike to the top of a mountain, before I was 100% steady on my feet.
Then this past week, another tap on the shoulder came while I was surfing Waikiki.