Gypsy Caravan Slows to Halt
“Silence isn’t empty. It’s full of answers.”
– Anon
Well…it had to happen eventually, I suppose.
The Pink Gazelle Gypsy Bohemian Road Trip Warrior & her Fearless and Furry (but rather lame at the moment) Retriever Sidekick are having to, dare I say…put down roots.
Here’s how it all went down:
Sadie and I left Alberta at the end of January. I loaded up my 2001 CRV (yes, the one with 350,000 km) and staggered across multiple mountain passes. And I do mean staggered…the CRV did fine; the retriever not so much. She literally WAS staggering along on three legs, trying to keep weight off her injured shoulder. Being held captive in the back of the vehicle for a few days was probably the best thing for her.
We arrived in our VRBO in Qualicum Bay on Vancouver Island in early Feb and I promptly got into a spectacular argument with one of the neighbours. This decidedly unwelcome welcome to the neighbourhood was countered by another neighbour arriving at my door with a plate of sandwiches and goodies. Life in a nutshell, right there 🙂
Then the snowstorm hit:
And I got to thinking…it might be time to revise my plans?
What the plan had been was that I was going to Australia for 2 weeks in March to visit family. Then Sadie & I were going to head to Eastern Canada to house sit for family in Ottawa.
But as the snow piled up outside my window and my wounded retriever softly snored, I admitted to myself that she was not going to be sufficiently healed by March, to be left in the care of others. Nor was she was likely going to be up to a cross-continent road trip in April.
So what did I do? I sighed, reached over and picked up a quote card from my “Intuitive Insights” quote card sets. This is what it said:
Ahhh…yes. I smiled, leaned back and had another sip of hot chocolate. And it hit me: I was exactly where I was supposed to be. The snowstorm and subsequent road conditions were forcing me to sit STILL (very difficult for a gypsy gazelle), be quiet, listen to what my soul was trying to tell me…and then act accordingly.
Two days later, I calmly made the decision to postpone my Australia trip to the fall. I then found and booked another inexpensive little VRBO for the month of March (just north of Qualicum Bay). Then I contacted the bank about a mortgage, called a realtor and started to look at homes & neighbourhoods in the Qualicum Beach area.
Within a week, I’d found our adorable new home AND a new (to me) CRV with low kilometres!
Sadie and I move in to our new digs at the end of March. No muss, no fuss…it all just clicked into place when the time was right.
Here are 5 lessons I’m taking from these transformational past 3 weeks:
1. Sometimes we just have to STOP, be quiet and make the decisions we need to make.
2. We know what we need to do. We just need to be quiet and listen to what our soul is trying to tell us what the next step needs to be.
3. Sometimes all that is needed is to make one decision or change…and then everything else just clicks into place. It’s almost like the Universe is waiting for us to take that first step.
4. The time comes when we reach an age (15 for some, 50 for others) where we finally realize that listening to the chatter of other people’s well-meaning advice & opinions may do more to confuse than clarify.
5. The only thing worse than making a bad decision is making no decision.
I hope there is something in this blog & lessons learned that resonates with you.
I will share pics of my new home & vehicle in the weeks to come. In the meantime, here are a few photos from my time here in Qualicum Bay:
P.S. Sadie is doing much better! She continues to improve, slowly but surely, and is going for longer and longer walks. Why…it’s almost as if her shoulder injury was part of the plan 🙂
Maryanne Pope is the author of A Widow’s Awakening, the playwright of Saviour and the screenwriter of God’s Country. Maryanne is CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and Chair of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. If you would like to receive her regular weekly blog, please sign up here.
If you would like to order the (dare I say magic?) “Intuitive Insights for Soul-Inspired Living” Quote Cards ($7.95 per set), please visit our new store on Etsy!
12 thoughts on “Gypsy Caravan Slows to Halt”
I am so looking forward to the creativity that this new bungalow is going to give you!!!!!!
So glad Sady is getting better. Never fast enough. Hugs
So nice Maryann. Always a story wherever we go. My cousins are in Qualicim and I love it too. I hope one day I will be there.
Take Care.
Hi Maryanne —
Happy you will be living on the island — this was a terrific blog — helped me, also, to understand some of the bullshit I’ve been putting myself through lately — but overall, all overall okay here! We’ll have to get together in the spring or summer — or both! Love to Sadie.
Glynis, Cindy and Midge
Congrats on the new home purchase! Look forward to seeing pics. Our month was ticking along nicely until someone decided to steal Ken’s truck at 4 am one morning.. please send some of your good Karma our way- we’re feeling like we could use it.. love across the miles.. S, x
Well first of all I have to start by saying that the photo of Sadie and her friend, Belle, has well and truly warmed my heart, so thank you for sharing that! 🙂
Secondly, this is a beautiful post with some powerful content. And I also love the Rob Bell quote card as it’s a great reminder (and also very reassuring) not to try to rush through those times when we’re in discomfort. If anything they should be savoured for what they are, and more importantly, for the transformation they can bring to our lives.
And finally, your five realisations. Wow! The biggest lesson to come out of that is that we really do need to listen to that inner voice…the one that tells us what it is that we need to do. Often we try to ignore it because to follow the thing that we need can also be the very thing that means going against what others want for us. It’s so cruel that life can be that way, but sometimes what others want for us is not necessarily the best thing for us at all…sometimes it’s what’s best for them, only disguised as well-meaning intent.
I believe in listening to your own heart and following your gut instinct, and it sounds as though you’ve had quite a transformative experience. Thank you for this reminder my friend.
Elliot 🙂
Thank you so much for your thoughtful response to this blog, Elliot. I am glad those 5 realizations resonated with you…and yes, I agree the number one lesson in all of this was to STOP running and just be quiet and listen to what my next step NEEDED to be – not necessarily what I wanted it to be.
I still find it absolutely amazing how smoothly and quickly everything else clicked into place after I made the decision to postpone my March trip to Australia to the fall. Interestingly, now that Sadie and I are settled in to our next VRBO on Vancouver Island (in Bowser) for the month of March, I am starting to realize there are OTHER reasons for me needing to be here in Canada, working, instead of traveling to Australia. I gotta admit the Universe does know best 🙂
Glad that photo of Sadie & Belle warmed your heart…mine, too!
Take care,
MA
NO WAY!!! Stace…that is horrible about Ken’s truck getting stolen. Arghhh…
I will most definitely send you guys some good vibes & karma over the mountains!
MA
Oh you betcha…can’t wait to see you, Midge & Cindy! Sadie and I will be back and forth a few times from Qualicum Beach to Victoria in March, so I will e-mail you and see if we can pop in for a visit!
Glad my blog resonated with you, Glynis…yes – we certainly DO sometimes put ourselves through far more BS than might be necessary 🙂
See you soon!
MA
Yes…hope you can come for a visit, Joyce! Now you have another place to stay in QB 🙂
Take care & I hope things are going well for you,
MA
I’ll say! She’s such a little trooper 🙂 I must say I’m glad she doesn’t have to contend with the bitter cold weather now that we’re back on the island. That is tough on their paws, as you well know!
MA
Oh ho! Kinda cool we will be finishing the Bungalow by the Sea script in a different bungalow by the sea…can you imagine the look on my face if we hear a band saw start up next door?! I have already decided that IF that – or any other annoying & irritating neighbour noise – happens, I am going to LAUGH! Versus screaming 🙂
Hope Florida is going well…soak up some sun for me!
MA