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Dangerous Compassions

why did you journey?

choppingHello, reader.  How are you doing?  I made a new art.  It’s called Why did you journey?

why did you journey

It’s actually a collaboration between me, Ming who drew the trilobite sticker, and a soap company whose packaging I arted over.

why did you journey?
April 2 2024
marker, watercolor, and Ming-made trilobite sticker on reclaimed product packaging cardstock
Kalapuya land
Laura-Marie Strawberry Nopales

Thank you, Ming and soap company.  It’s about any kind of journey–psychedelic trip, spiritual pilgrimage, the journey of life, the journey of a marriage.

trip

We have been stressed, partly because of a trip Ming is about to take to deal with a huge emotional chore.  It will be hard, but I believe in him.

Lately I learned how to chop wood.  We have a hatchet, and we go to this wonderful park.  The first time, I learned so much: about physics, my own body, how wood works.

I hurt my thumb muscles from gripping the handle.  You know me–I’m so clumsy.  I gripped the fuck out of the handle so the hatchet wouldn’t fly out of my grasp and hit my leg or foot.

My left thumb hurt for more than a week.  There was pain and weakness.  But once my thumbs were both better, I wanted to chop wood again.  Yee haw!

I love the smells–I’ve been chopping doug fir, I think.  Some nice conifer.  I love the reality of doing a physical thing in the actual world.  Not just ideas or words, but actual world actions, skills.

Here’s a cute picture of Ming chopping wood.

chopping

Chopping wood is good for stress.  There’s the hit from movement and sunshine, but also the hit of helping produce a useful thing.  Warms you twice at least.

Please hold me and Ming in your hearts this weekend as he undertakes a difficult journey.

foods

Here are some delicious foods I’ve been making lately.  Glad it’s asparagus time.

food

Just a salad.  It was really good though!

salad

I’ve been making this approximation of a chile powder casserole my mom used to make when I was a kid.  My version is rice, fake meat, onion, salt and black pepper, tons of chili powder, garlic powder…  Nostalgic comfort food.

My mom put scrambled eggs in it, but I’ve been avoiding a more authentic rendition.  It’s great just like this.

chile powder casserole

I slightly burned the onions this time, but in a nice way.

why did you journey?

If at the end of your life, someone asks you, “Why did you journey?” what will you say?

Hopefully my death will be long from now, and I’ll have a new reason by then.  But right now I’m guessing my answer would be “to learn” and “to love Ming and others” and “to share my gifts.”

But it would be wonderful if a new reason arises that my current self could never dream.

By Laura-Marie

Good at listening to the noise until it makes sense.

2 replies on “why did you journey?”

“Why are you journeying?” is the question I get asked most often, mostly by people who would never understand my true answer. In 12 days I leave to hike 800 miles on a rugged Trail whose official motto is “Embrace the brutality.” I will disappoint and anger some people to do this; it’s part of the price I must pay. For one whose greatest fear is letting others down, this is a terrible cost to my own heart. But the price is higher still to capitulate to their expectations and not walk it. I would truly be “breaking faith with my own awakened heart.” (James Finley) But there are some journeys we take that have no clear reasons; our bodies and souls reach for it until we topple over the edge. Perhaps one reason to do this is to discover the reason to return home. The journey deep into the wilderness and the journey back to the village and community are the two halves of the great Medicine Wheel. We’ll see how this plays out. I hold you and Ming in my heart as you walk your journeys differently for this time.

yes, friend. much respect to your journey. thank you for holding us. thank you for mentioning the halves of the Medicine Wheel and journeys with no clear reason. I did think of the Medicine Wheel with this art because of the four-ness. x

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