Tag Archives: travel

Pieces of Me

Who am I? Genetics, environment, and experience, they have all helped to shape me. I was born into this life with a touch of auburn in my hair from Dad, and long piano playing fingers from Mom.

But father, why did you not give me the flaming locks that run in your Scottish family? Why just a whisper of red for me? I have a fire inside that rages, and a call to blaze a path in this world. My Maori friend calls me “Fire”. Perhaps it is so my flame is evident only to those with eyes that see deeper?

And mother, why was I born with your hands and no musical talent? It felt cruel. It was a source of frustration to me that I failed at piano lessons. Perhaps it was so I could learn to see in myself what is, rather than what is not?

One summer afternoon, the girl I was lay on her bed daydreaming. I left my body and up I rose until I floated among the stars, tethered to Earth by a slender silver thread. I felt infinity for the first time, and I realized that I was so much more than they were telling me.

I am the artist in France, learning to express my soul on canvas. In this present life, I recall those lessons easily. Painting is like breathing to me. That other self walks in Monet’s garden, and I yearn to again. A photo of the Seine in the fog makes my heart ache with longing. It is a happy life.

I am the Japanese geisha in love with a powerful man. He loves me, but we cannot be together. Even now, pink cherry blossoms in spring make my heart both sing and weep, all at the same time. The lesson? I love and I am loved. In the end, the love is all that is important.

Sometimes when I walk along the sidewalk, I recognize a piece of myself in a stranger’s eyes. How can I say what it is exactly? It is fleeting, but I see it, and I feel it.

When I pass a beggar on the street, I attach a blessing to the coin I give. In my mind I say, “I know you, and I feel your pain. I have been where you are. It is a lesson you are learning, and it will all be okay.”

There is so much of me flooding in from the world, sometimes I feel overwhelmed by it. So I wash the dishes or sweep the floor, ordinary tasks that ground me in the here and now.

But I can never deny to myself, or to the world, that which I know to be true: I am stardust. I am Infinite. I am part of it All.

Pieces of Me is an excerpt from Becoming Bigger: In a world that wants to keep you small. Find it for sale in my bookstore here, or get this collection of life inspiration free when you subscribe for occasional newsletters here.

Eduardo & the Green Obsidian

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Meeting Eduardo was a delightful surprise. So, for that matter, was the green obsidian.

On a bright summer afternoon, I walked down an El Centro street just after a lunch with my friend Barbara. In that moment I was in a very good mood. The city streets were already quiet by then, as many of the small shops had closed for a siesta.

I casually noticed a young man sitting on a stoop as I passed him. He appeared to be one of the transient travelers often seen on the downtown streets, selling their handmade jewelry to make travel money. About four paces past him, I was stopped in my tracks. A voice in my head said clearly, “You MUST go back. This young man needs your help.”

I continued to pause and I listened. The direction was repeated. I have learned not to ignore my intuitions, so…

I about-faced and walked back. He looked up from his work and smiled warmly. Rather than displaying his jewelry on a ground cloth, he had devised an upright stand so it could be viewed at eye level. Aside from his beautiful handmade necklaces and bracelets, he was also reselling some cheap trinkets. The first thing to catch my eye was a small, silvery Eiffel Tower.

Thought to self, “Ah yes. Paris. Some day…” But I knew buying a $2 charm was not going to make Eduardo’s day a whole lot better.

I continued to look. Many of his necklaces featured turquoise, but as much as it is my favorite stone, nothing really grabbed me. Suddenly Eduardo handed me a necklace from the other side of the stand, and the moment my eyes fell on it, I knew it was meant for me. Sleek and smooth, largish and tear-drop shaped, the stone set in the necklace was a dark, lustrous opaque green. Held up to the light, I could see faint rainbow colors. There was a magic to it.

I told him in Spanish it was the piece I wanted. I did not dicker on the price in this case. I was happy enough with what he quoted, and, I had a deep sense that Eduardo badly needed the money. I expressed my delight at the beauty of the stone. He seemed pleased. He told me it was obsidiana (Spanish for obsidian), and that it was very special to the Mayan people.

Eduardo had woven the obsidian into a thread neckband of olive green and black. He invited me to sit beside him so he could fit the length to me and add the clasp. But when he took out his lighter to burn the thread ends (as I had just seen him doing on a bracelet as I walked up), the flame failed to ignite. At that exact moment, Eduardo reached his completely broke point. He embarassedly asked to borrow a dollar so he could purchase a new lighter.

I said sure. He procured one from the store next door, then sat beside me again. I asked his name and where he was from. Peru. He had only been in Ecuador for a couple of weeks. We chatted happily while he worked, me in my broken Spanish and he in his imperfect English. It didn’t matter about the gaps. We understood each other in all the ways that were important.

As Eduardo was making the final fitting, a young couple walked up and the woman exclaimed how beautiful the necklace looked. It was me! I paid Eduardo the money, and we cheek kissed in the Spanish way before I departed.

He looked at me. “Esta fue una reunión de corazones, si Susanna?”

I smiled. “Yes Eduardo. It was indeed a true meeting of hearts.” I hugged him, then proceeded on my way.

As it turned out, this meeting was not just about Eduardo’s predicament. I also had been working through a rough period in my life. When I later researched it, I discovered that green obsidian is a Gaia Stone and is sometimes called “The Soul of the Earth”. It is associated with the heart chakra and is said to promote loving relationships between people. Green obsidian is therefore held very sacred by the Mayan people.

Later I had the stone mounted on a silver wire so I could wear it more often. Because of the special way it came to me, the green obsidian represents my love for humanity. When I wear it, I feel connected to the All and loved in return.

It magically found me at just the right time, and the messenger was Eduardo.

Eduardo & the Green Obsidian © Susan L Hart 2024

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The Trip

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We arrive
with no luggage
and leave with
none too,
so why do we
spend a lifetime
accumulating
mere things?

To prop up
our egos,
and relieve
our boredom,
to salve our
hurts, and
impress the
neighbors.

Within the
glorious potential
of the soul’s
quest, we lay
waste to what
could have been
for the next
new toy.

The kids
fight over the
treasures
left behind
by their parents,
thinking that the
having is some
kind of victory.

But the wounds
inflicted in the
fight for more
are baggage of
a different kind,
ones that can
cross over if we
don’t take care.

Traveling light
and loving well
are the real
accomplishments,
and as big as
they are, they
pack small
for the leaving.

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City

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Can you imagine living in Tokyo? When I think of Japan, I long to see the cherry blossoms in spring… “Patient, nature waits.”

Escape

Beyond the babel,
my bliss, beauty, sacredness,
soul cradled in calm.

Sun-kissed

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Lustrous diamond,
blazing star constant and true,
Sol, we adore you.

Turtles are renowned sun worshipers, so today I’m dedicating my sun haiku to them. Unlike humans, however, sunbathing is not just a fun pastime in order to enhance one’s aesthetic attractiveness. No, their health and well-being depends upon it. Apparently turtles bask to regulate body temperature, and also to produce the vitamin D3 they need to absorb calcium and avoid metabolic bone disease.

Turtles are very sociable creatures. They will happily share a log, and if need be, they politely as possible walk on top of their companion(s) to get to the other end of it. I suppose it’s a sort of sunbathing etiquette agreed upon by turtles. Imagine if we humans did that to each other at the beach!

But what I really want to know is, while they’re soaking up the rays, what do turtles talk about? (“Hey Bill, check out the cute babe on the next log…”)

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