The Kick
A gregarious hermit gets busy
Last winter during a body work session in Chapala, Mexico, the practitioner, a woman who often intuits messages for her clients, called me out on my reluctance to start writing about my life. Channeling my High School principal’s basso profundo, she said, "Do NOT be so arrogant as to assume that what you have experienced is not worth sharing." Words to that effect, anyway. It was like a boot in the backside—leather under velvet—hard enough to shock, not disable. Arrogant? Damn.
I've long believed that everyone's life story is worth hearing. Being human isn't an easy gig, and what we learn from experience is medicine best shared. But I had not directed that belief toward myself. Stale insecurities had keep me quiet(ish) with all the usual excuses. But no more. I’m well into my 60s now—high time to describe what’s up, even though—or perhaps because—I’m not exactly sure, and in that, I know I’m not alone.
So here I am. Finally. My Substack debut. Hi!
Focus?
I used to have a postcard on my fridge of a cat with its eyes crossed. The caption read FOCUS. I can focus like nobody’s business. But I can also scatter like a dandelion puff. It might take a while for my focus here to reveal itself, since Travels of a Gregarious Hermit covers a lot of ground. (Accidental pun, there.)
My next post will reveal a big life transition I’m facing. With it, actual travels will eventually start up again, back to Portugal and England, the west coast, the east coast, the southwest, Mexico, Greece, Latin America, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, France—they’re all on my list. But this won’t be a travel newsletter. Or it will, but not only that. I’ll probably defy SEO guidance by scoping broadly with occasional forays into random details—metaphysics factoids (oxymoron?), favorite gelaterias in Porto*, or timely quotes from Deadwood or The Wee Free Men. We’ll see. My job for now (saith the boot’s wearer) is “simply” to show up.
Plus, “I’m at that stage.” We say that about toddlers and teens awkwardly discovering what they can do and who they are. Here in my 60s, I’m still doing all that, but I’m also at that stage of having learned something of life inside and out. I’ll take my inner life along for the journey, so I’ll share both what I see and what I “see.”
Why here?
My expanding community of friends and family is amazing. To also engage with people I don’t know, to spark and be sparked by folks I may never meet—this platform offers a way to do that without relying on social media venues hijacked by distractions and algorithms. Were I to decline the chance to experiment, well…I believe in Guidance. The next kick in the backside could be harder.
Frequency
Despite my utter failure to promote it, my book of poems, Pluck Another Apple, Eve, and Finish It, has been finding its way into more hands since my Mexico sojourn. I’ve interpreted that uptick as another kick, without the kick. As in, “Good grief, woman, have a little faith. Say what you want to say. GET GOING!”
Now that the dam has burst I’m writing more than I will inflict on you. Let’s see whether a weekly post works best. Let me know if that’s too much and I’ll dial it back. File all this under “feeling my way as I go.”
Thank you
I hope something of what emerges from this experiment will leave you glad you found me. I’ll probably start up the “pay” option when I have enough momentum going to warrant that form of support. But meanwhile and always, if something I write inspires or moves you, I’d love to hear it. That’s my real purpose….to lift us up, however I can.
Great reads?
The prospect of building my own subscription list is a bit daunting because there’s so much wonderful material on Substack. Any favorites I should check out? I’d appreciate some suggestions.
Thank you!
*About those gelaterias in Porto, Portugal. The delicious roses of Amorino Gelato Al Naturale aren’t the only concoctions worth going out of your way for, but they’re justifiedly popular. I believe the combo below was lemon basil, mango, and coffee.
