Self-Awareness x5

I met Sally Nurney when I went to  the Women's RTR (Rubber Tramp Rendezvous) to research the nomadic lifestyle.  Sally was sitting in her van, chatting with some people.  I came over, curious about her Roadtrek.  She was very gracious, invited me in, and offered me food and drink.  We got to talking.  She's been in her van for 2 years.  She had a good job and life in Colorado, but it was time to make a change. She asked me what I was thinking about getting.  I told her about the truck campers. "Why?" she asked. "To go off road!"  I answered.  "Do want to go off road?" she asked, "or just think I do?"

I came to the desert with a goal in mind:  find a vehicle to start my nomadic adventure.  I've toyed with the idea of an RV for many years. An RV holds the lure of being in nature in more comfort than tent camping, lower costs, and flexibility to be in or out of the city, while giving me a little more solitude to write. Hmmm....I ask myself the Sally question: "Do I need actually need more solitude or do I just think I need it?"  What is truly wanted? 

Perched on the edge of the bed, Sally pulls out a small box of little purses.  "See these?" she asks.  Her long brown hair is in two high pigtails interwoven with a beautiful, thick, variegated green yarn that mirror the layered greens and textures of her skirt and top.  She has sparkle make up around eyes full of spunk. Her van is full of little touches, like an altar with beautiful owl feathers and dolls. It's a home. I'm taken with her confidence and comfort in negotiating the nomadic life.  "Every so often, I get rid of them.  But a few months later, they're back!"  She looks at me. "You know the seed question?"  I shake my head. I'm a little confused. We'd been talking about waste, about how to wash dishes with very little or no water, about getting rid of stuff, about living with less. "What do you get when you plant a pumpkin seed?" she asks, then answers her own question, "You get a pumpkin!  What do you get when you plant a carrot seed?  You get a carrot!  She pauses. "What do you get when you plant a Sally seed?  You get this little box of purses" she says and waves her arm like a wand around the space, "and all this!" I wonder, "what do I get when I plant an Etja seed?  What does anybody get when they plant the seed of themselves? "You know how it is when you have roommates," she goes on, "and you get upset with them for moving your stuff?  Well, when you're alone, you realize that you're the one moving your stuff. Especially in a van.  It's self awareness x5."  The seed of self-awareness can be planted or harvested in any situation. It isn't confined to van-life. It's pretty interesting, though, to turn up the pressure and get who really is moving that stuff.