Carolyn

I’ve done it. I went on a meditation retreat a month ago and stopped, just like I always do when I leave my hometown. But I’ve been back for a while now and haven’t started again.
This is worth doing, because now I can peel oranges and open soda cans.
It’s a pain, though, because I don’t want them to get too long, and I’ve never had nails long enough to learn how to clip them evenly.

I was pretty nervous, but as soon as they started buzzing away I wasn’t anymore. It feels amazing! Why didn’t I do this before? I love it. I can feel every slight temperature change, the sun and rain on my head, and I can’t stop touching it. Also, it’s a really good way to inform people about the fact that the Family Planning Clinic does free breast and cervical cancer screenings for women who can’t afford them. People ask me why I did it, and I tell them all about it. They’re doing another one next year, so if you’re in Homer, I highly recommend it! If you’re somewhere else, talk to the people at your local Family Planning Clinic to start something like it.

A lot of people I mention this goal to seem to think it’s some kind of personal insult, like because I want to live somewhere else I must not want to live here, and that must mean that I don’t like the people here, and that must mean I don’t like THEM. But wanting to move away isn’t just a negative reaction to the way things are here. I just like it so much other places.