As we prepare for the upcoming seminar at the farm led by Jose, many details begin to hit me: How will I be able to stay in touch with YOU? How will I be able to write and send out blog posts? My aim is to try to send something at least once a week, and ideally twice a week. During the intensive seminar, most likely I will not leave the farm at all for several weeks. Internet at the farm is kind of like gambling: It’s a roll of the dice – sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. There can be periods of time where the internet is available and fast, and other times where I am unable to get on at all.
So: One advantage of insomnia laden thought processes, is that they can be rather flowing and potentially creative. Maybe this doesn’t make sense now in the daylight, but in the middle of the night, my thought was that I can try to summarize life off the grid during the seminar in Haiku poem form: Just three lines, 5-7-5 syllables…and done! Then I can somehow at least get onto my email once in a while and send my ever present, loyal Organizer Friend Lisa (www.yourorganizedlife.biz) the haiku and she can come on to offthegridmama and post it for me! Or maybe if my haiku poems are really sucking, now that I examine this thought in the light of day, I can alternatively send a short, non-Haiku form paragraph for her to post. Depending on my state of Haiku poetic ability of the moment.
Anyway, if you suddenly either hear nothing from me at all for awhile, OR start receiving strangely brief Haiku or short thoughts in comparison to my rambling tendencies, you’ll know why. Seminar in full swing.
“Oh War-yar woman.
My swift reply will arrive.
The retreat organizer probably won’t “get” that I’m working with Haiku 5-7-5 syllables from a window sill during an intensive Fourth Way seminar. If I’m lucky, they’ll embrace the “calmest pause” part and wait for my more long-winded, not so swift reply as soon as I can figure out how to reply.
“How will I find you?
In your search, faithful reader.
Are you imprisoned there and unable to get away so you can get to the cafe to post?
What exactly does this “seminatr” entail that you are so worried about losing touch with us??
Anthony:) You know what? Yes, you read right – some parts of me feel very trapped here, I’m a prisoner to the habit of comfort in my Modern American Life. Regarding the seminar itself, there’s no imprisonment involved – some people are coming for 4 days, some are staying for 3 full weeks, though you can leave if you want. I want – hope – to stay at the farm for the full, daily experience of sitting exercises, movements, zikr, practical work, group themes and study, etc. My choice. But it is a big commitment to the parts of me that like to go out to get groceries, get on to fast speed internet at the cafe and do whatever I do on the computer. In my house at the farm, if I stand in one corner of one window, I can usually manage to get a signal on my iphone to the extent of checking my email and sending. But rarely can I get onto a website, post on my blog, etc. One building across from our house has occasional decent access, and for the upcoming seminar, Jose is trying to get some kind of booster that might help speed up the internet which would be great. But depending on my state of acceptance and relaxation, there are days – or insomnia nights – when I feel frustrated with the lack of modern conveniences. Overall, I feel that the benefits far outweigh my American Girl frustrations. But yeah, sometimes the American Girl in me is pissed!
