Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.
—Seneca
Since the launch of my initial website 3,151 days ago (10/5/2012) to the unveiling of my new site today, I calculate I’ve taken @10,000 steps a day—discounted by 10% for sick days and 2 foot surgeries, but add back 10% to account for the up and down of 53 stair steps on the cliff at my previous residence for 3 years—for a total of 31,510,000 footsteps along the way—from there to here.
My more ethereal math tallies the glow of 95 full moons (accounting for 13 in 2 of those years) under which I cavorted with my demons & the primal. You see, hand carrying 80 blog post images that didn’t co-operate in the website tech migration, immersed me in a 9 year revealing retrospective of my musings.
Plenty of times I aimed too high, slimed too low, stayed too long, left too soon—and fell for it deep. Spirited away to seedy & exotic spots, I slithered when I should have walked, frolicked on a transatlantic high wire (in both directions) and red-eyed to an array of tropical hideaways. I bought and sold my wares, traded up and traded down & swapped one obsession for another. I purged possessions like a monk, hoarded sentimental junk & conquered disappearing tricks. And under each full moon, I nestled in the wild cocoon of night teasing the invisible—the ripple of a shoulder, flex of limbs, the tremble of a touch—searching for the sanctified.
I’ve lost count of all the strangers (who weren’t), emergencies, liaisons (per chance), warnings I failed to heed, intrigues I invited, risks I took, goodbyes I whispered—some ‘til then & a few forever. Not to mention a collection of illusions, spectral sightings & dead ends that opened up.
Contemplative, I wandered through multi continent deserts, left strands and footprints in miles of Caribbean sand, scoured windswept moors for clues linked to a former past, beat city streets from Amsterdam to Cape Town, missed planes, missed a kiss & barely dodged a cobra lurking in my path. From eclectic angles, I’ve worked the limitations (undercover) to uncover the lost & found.
I’ve closed doors and opened locks, reassembled broken pieces— revised, restored, transformed—& sought magicians deft with a sleight of hand.
So now, after a 5-month hiatus from creating blogs, I’m back with this inaugural post to my updated version.
Welcome to my new website made possible by the creative and technical expertise (and patience) of my website guru Mark Frankel Arroyo Design, my brilliant logo designer Eva-Lena Rehnmark and my photographer friend Kari Kliman. Please take a tour & peruse my offerings.
Here’s to new beginnings!
More footprints to follow.
such inspiring words from a spirited lady. your words are the muse.
You are definitely my muse, Martha. I always feel myself in your words, and perhaps that is because you tap so well into the universality of the human condition. In any case, I am moved to consider my own new beginings and the ends that came before. It feels good to think that that is what this is and not more of the same, as I attempt to start my life once more, in a new place, from nothing. Phoenix rising. Thank you for the opportunity to reflect on words that glide and sway and feel good simply for how they are placed next to each other. Your posts always come just in time.
A lifting cocktail distilled from nearly a decade.
Celebrate reemergent hope for a new adventure.
As the epidemic wanes hope peeks through new openings. Cleaning house means sorting memories and mementos, regrets and promises. We all walk a similar path – you are more aware than others, more eloquent and you guide and encourage us to follow your lead.
What an amazing journey and how lucky we are to have been a part of it! Gorgeous website – love the mix of the old and the new. Looking forward to more footsteps!
As we all move into our new and altered future your eloquent words are a lovely transition.