Blogging from Bogota!

Well that's a cool title for a Blogg!

Arrived in Bogota this afternoon after a week in Peru - and a very late last night drinking pisco sours and  cuba libres with AB, Javier and strangely Jack and Sammy long time friends of Jimmy. It was a wonderful night - and a beautiful end to a very special week.

I have been asking myself all week - why am I here? It has felt very important for me to understand why my life's journey brought me to to South America. Yesterday AB and I spend the day - going over videos and interviews - and really reflecting on where we had been all week......... and that felt really solid and clear... the purpose for me being in Peru - being the learning..... and yesterday felt very positive and purposeful - I am living this blessed life to learn what I need to learn - and to do what I need to do.....

But today has felt quite different. Might be something to do with being more than a little hung over but it also feels like one of those next steps in thinking - just when you think you are getting somewhere - it goes to another level and it starts all over again! What AM I doing here in South America?

But here I am - on my own in the most beautiful little hotel - somewhere in the old town on Bogota. It's Good Friday and I walked through the City tonight watching religious parades in streets full of people, hawkers selling incense in Inca Kola cans, churros and all sorts of strange things that I didn't recognise.... then I talked to young woman about the reality of the education of her son.... that was good consolidated much of yesterday's thinking....

I am here because I am here - and that was the lesson of Peru - we are here to live our individual lives and we have the responsibility to do exactly that - to recognise and treasure every precious second of our existence..... easy for me to say? Yes - but am I here in Bogota in order to learn this lesson - or because I am living my life on this basis - the chicken and the egg question!

I do feel a profound gratitude and so I should!

Off again..................

It's Sunday night and I'm off again tomorrow for three weeks - tomorrow Amsterdam - Friday Lima, for a week - the a weekend in Bogota - then Medellin and then back to Amsterdam for an afternoon with Jimmy - to hear about his time in Qatar - he's there now.

Last weekend was wonderful - 18 family members in the Lake District - and it just reinforced my understanding of how amazingly blessed I am - as it was..... wonderful - can't think of any other words to describe it - every moment was precious. We stayed in two big wooden Lodges, warm and welcoming, walked three of my favourite walks, ate together, laughed together, swam and talked.... and were family together.... and it was just perfect. My Mum was so happy - been over to see her this afternoon with a big montage of photographs and she is still holding very close to herself - the memory of just how much she enjoyed it... and so am I!

My boys gave me a ceremonial drum which they had had made for me for my birthday - which I love - it has an eagle flying on it - and I have been playing it - I will use for ceremony, sound journeys and meditation - and as I have never had or been able to play an instrument before - it is very special to me - though I can't take it away with me this time.

Am feeling restless tonight - which is normal the night before I go away... thinking about what I need  to take with me ..... I like to pack light - but Amsterdam in March is cold and Peru is hot - and it is a mixture of work and holiday... very little space - which is good - but I need to focus on what I will need...

Went to Gilly's for dinner on Friday night and and had a liquid lunch with Pat and Nita yesterdayand have spent the rest of the weekend sorting stuff - I like to change and wash my my sheets and leave the flat tidy etc before I go away - I have also ended up tonight doing complicated music/audio book  related stuff between ipods/pads/phones etc - which always seem to take me longer than I expect! I have just seen that I have 15,395 songs in my itunes - so I can see why it has taken a while tonight to sort! And of course I have to work out my knitting for the plane journeys - currently takes up half of my carry on bag - but will leave the final decision on that until the morning!

So all of this is just displacement activity prior to going away - writing this whilst trying to work out what I have done to my music  - and seem to have lost my audio books - and it's getting late - and I'm tired ...... and am not certain if Icloud music will work on the plane - because there is no wifi... Ok time to go to bed!

Life is something else!

... but not quite certain what?

It's Thursday evening - I have just been out for dinner with my three beautiful sons and Lara - Rob arrived last Saturday and Jimmy, Alex and Lara today - tomorrow we all meet up with my Mum, sisters and family in the Lake District - 18 of us - 4 generations - supposedly celebrating my birthday - but basically just being family.... how blessed is that... to be us - I feel so humbled by this thought - how precious is this.......

We are going to Brockwood Hall, staying in two lodges, a place so close to Broughton and Eccleriggs where my Mum and Dad had their caravan for 18 years - so much part of my life - and my children's lives - a place where they ran wild, made dens in the woods, climbed mountains, learnt to swim, played card and just enjoyed themselves - a wonderful part of their childhood - my children have been so lucky too........

To be with them tonight was just 'precious' I can't think of any other word for it........

I am in my flat, Lara has gone to bed and the boys have gone down town - off to meet Jimmy's friends Jack and Sammy before they go off around the world for 6 months - wonderful young people - growing up and spreading their wings... people are amazing - we are amazing!!!

I was listening to my boys talk about their Nan tonight - they recognised her happiness, her love for life ... her wonderfulness - that's pretty cool - when  I told Lara that she and Alex were in in the other  house with Nan, she was so pleased - genuinely delighted to be staying close to Nan..... bufffff - that's getting me emotional - I can see this weekend will be just full of emotion.. but in a good way - just a joyous appreciation of the wonderful people in my life - bufffffffffffffffffff - feeling it again!!

OK - so I shall just do my utmost to enjoy every 'precious' (that word again) second of this weekend - to be thankful and appreciative  - and to count my blessings without judgement, conditions or expectation of anything other than the recognition of how lucky I am to be me...... 

To be alive is extraordinary - though sometimes it can feel pretty bonkers, crazy and scary - but hey we're here - we're alive - so let's enjoy every precious second of the journey!!!