There is so much to tell you…where to begin? August rolled in and out, so many shows and preparing for the river trip for September made me preoccupied. Needless to say, my creativity has been limited to my drive by songs, such as, “Whatcha gonna do when your stuck in the sugar shack what cha gonna do???” LOL!
We just rolled home from our epic trip down the Main Salmon River with 23 of our very favorite folks! Holy cow! It’s hard to put it all in words. My little “jingle” that I wrote about the “sugar shack” comes from a bee getting stuck in the coffee sugar jar on the trip. As it was caught in the jar, I sang the line above once and a fellow river rafter Joni sang a beautiful harmony line that matched the phrasing EXACTLY upon the next repeat! I was super impressed and we sang that little ditty for the next 5 minutes and laughed our asses off.
If I have only ONE thing to say about the river trip, I would definitely use the word “Laughter”. I heard laughter on the whole trip! The people who joined us were all joyful and it was such a gift to hear them laugh and get to know each other. I was proud that we could bring such a wonderful group together in the name of “music” and celebrate this wonderful journey down the river for the week.
I have had my own inner struggles and was hoping the river would help take it down current and bring some peace to my over active mind. It did! As nature ALWAYS does, it set me square in my “center”. It reminded me of who I am, away from everything, away from home, away from “things I have to do”, and it gave me the knowingness that I really can love myself through some tough life circumstances. And what a blessing! I couldn’t always say that when I was younger.
Being on the river with everyone solidified that I am super proud of the village we’ve created! The opportunity that music has given us is something to always be cherished! Friendship, how we treat others, how we treat ourselves, what we tolerate and don’t tolerate, boundaries, how we spend our time, WHO we spend our time with, what state of mind we walk with, what we share with others…it’s all so vital.
The lessons of forgiveness, acceptance, compassion all lead to our growth and take us down our “own river of life”. We sometimes get caught up in our own “eddie’s”. Spinning in circles, caught in the inertia of our lives, until we get the lesson and are released to go down river again. Only to be nearly drowned by the next circumstance only to come out more appreciative for the air we breathe and the life we are living. The adventure of the rapids and the peace of the lulls carry us through until we eventually are released from our bodies and dump out into the “ocean”. The river is our lives in so many ways and it keeps rolling along. How amazing this is!!!
On another note, this is the second day that I’ve been wearing hearing aides. Like, really GOOD hearing aides!!! Oh. My. God! This is going to be life changing! I can already tell. As I clack the keys on this computer I can hear everything! It’s pretty surreal! I can look in people’s eyes now without having to watch their mouths as much. Mind blowing indeed!!!
My Apple Computer has been getting worked on so I am not at liberty to post a song or pictures right now, but I will make up for it when the computer is finally fixed. Meanwhile, enjoy the changing leaves and know, we love you all very much and hope you are well!
Niccole, Mo & Juno
