So, where did this all begin? Well, actually best not to start at the
beginning.
I'll start in the middle somewhere. The Odyssey
does not begin at the beginning, but begins with The Return of Odysseus,
toward the end of the hero's adventures, and then requires that the
story move backward and forward in time and space. The Iliad
begins 9 years after the beginning of the Trojan Wars.
in medias res - in the middle of the plot. I figure if that
is good enough for Homer then it is good enough for me.
So I am starting here, just 3 days before flying to Athens, to meet
up with an incredible group of women to embark on this Odyssey. The
idea for this came to me in August 2006 while on a 7-day cruise in the
Greek Cyclades islands on the motor-yacht M/V Diogenes with my sister
Connie. I was so at home in Greece, and so stimulated by the energies
of the ancient and modern surroundings, and particularly enriched by the
knowledge of our wonderful guide, Elena, on that voyage. A licensed
guide, former flamenco dancer, fabulous linguist, and one who still
feels the myths of the ancient gods and goddesses, and wonderful warm
person. I shared with her my
Visual Travel Journal that I had been working on during the trip,
and promised her that somehow I was going to find a way to get Juliana
to come to Greece, and to lead a retreat. And I know at the time it
must have sounded to her (and even to me) like one of those things that
people sincerely mean at the time they say them, but that never really
happens for some reason or other.
And yet, here I am, meeting Juliana and others at the Hera Hotel in
Athens next Sunday evening for the beginning of an incredible journey.
I know we'll all share the moments when we first thought about
travelling to Greece. Or when we learned about this particular trip.
But really, when did it REALLY start?
What called me there? What called Juliana there? What called the
others there? Am I even asking the right question?
The Call.
The second of the 7 stages of
Pilgrimage as laid out by Phil Cousineau in his book, The Art of
Pilgrimage.
For me, the call began when I attended Juliana Coles' workshop
(www.meandpete.com) in Ojo
Caliente in September 2005. There's a page I did with a map of
Greece, and rubber stamp of a siren and a dragon, and it was
titled Odyssey. In that page, I wrestled with
my regrets about some of the choices I had made in my life, had
the courage to place the long-ago-forsaken dreams upon the page,
and to let them go. And I reflected on how many of my dreams had
actually come true, although not necessarily in the way I thought
they would. And how to continue to honor the dreams of my younger
self.
I could dream of Voyages Imaginaires, and
there are many. But, I could go on Voyages Realites, too. I look
back at this page, and it is no coincidence that this was done on
the background of a map of Greece. In fact, the loopy outline is
the tracing from a favorite necklace of mine that I bought in the
Plaka of Athens in 2001, some 28 years after my first trip to
Greece with my husband, Jim. And I've worn it many times since.
I consider this necklace a promise to myself to return to Greece.
What calls me? I don't know for sure. Deep
inside, it is enough to know that I have been called, and so I
must go.
Read a posting from Cheryl, one of our Greece Odyssey trip
members who went a few days earlier and posted about her yummy
Greek salad. "Lots of tomatoes, cucumbers,red onions, green
peppers, olives and a huge slice of feta cheese." Now I'm
really starting to feel like I've almost arrived there myself.
Of course, been rushing around like a crazy woman the last few
days, and banged up my little toe big time while barefoot in
the house. I have it taped and all that, and it's making me
sit still a little more and figure out what I REALLY should be
doing.
So, reminded me of a Visual Journal page I did in Juliana's
workshop in Hacienda
Mosaico this last April, titled "Big Toe Manifesto". A
'complaint' from my big toe, which then turned into a spread
about healthy foods and taking care of myself.
Hmmm, maybe time to slow down and savor these pre-departure
moments. They are a special part of the journey, too.
