Trip out west, part II:

So, the plan was for Jan to pick me up in Spokane where we'd attend a show with her 8-year-old son, Gabe, and then swing back to her home in Montana to regroup before heading out on the road. The show was great, to be sure, and was especially fun to see through the eyes of a little boy--awe-struck and out-of-his gourd excited.

Back at Jan's place in the Mission Mountains, we were out on her deck late in the evening taking in the clear Montana sky and wading through where we'd been over the past few months on our respective journeys. Lots of to dos. Lots of head down, get-'er-done energy. Lots of challenge. Lots of raw, emotional stuff.

I mentioned to my friend that what I really wanted to return to is the sense that there is so much more out there than have-tos and obligations.  Somewhere along the way that had been overshadowed.  I threw my head back, spread my arms wide and declared, "The world is full of POSSIBILITIES!" At that moment, a shooting star blazed through the sky right over our heads. No. Lie. Jan and I stared at one another with ever widening grins creeping across our faces. Not sure we could have asked for a more potent signal from the universe.

The beautiful thing: that star caused both of us to shift; it changed our focus. Light and buoyant, open to possibility, we were ready to hit the road.