My next chapter?
Time flies. Last I wrote to you all was in November, right after the election.
Wow.
I won’t go into detail about that; suffice it to say that things have changed in our nation, as so many of us expected and feared they would. I hope you are all taking good care of your mental health at this time.
I’ve spent the winter mostly withdrawn, processing as much as I can. I’ve mostly been up in Washington state—both Olympia and Seattle—cat sitting and staying with friends and family.
With spring now officially sprung in the northern hemisphere, I’m beginning to emerge, and starting to dream up something that might become the next chapter in my life.
Reflecting on my own strengths and weaknesses, I’ve been pondering how I might make the highest and best use of the gifts I have to serve the human collective in the time I have on this earth. I also want to practice good self-care. I’m feeling like about a 50-50 mix of taking good care of myself, and using my self-cared human energy to help the whole, seems like a good ratio.
One of my favorite things to do, as many of you know, is to travel by Amtrak. And now, it’s looking like Amtrak is—once again—in severe peril under this administration. I don’t know when traditional Amtrak travel might become irreparably changed or destroyed, but I’d rather not waste any time.
I estimate that I have covered somewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters of all the miles in the Amtrak system, over the past 30 years since I took my first long-distance train trip (on a route that no longer even exists, from Portland to Salt Lake City).
A few years ago, I read the story of an elderly man who proudly celebrated the completion of his goal of riding every single mile of track in the network.
I’m now thinking I would like to add that to my own list of life achievements. I’d like to cover all the routes, and parts of routes, I have not yet taken, such as the iconic City of New Orleans line. I’d love to see some of the same people and places I visited in my year of travels, and also continue to add new “magical meetings” with new people I might meet along these new routes.
Once again, I would want to make this travel as meaningful as possible. Of course I’d like to see beautiful sights, including cities and national parks and other natural areas. But I’d also like to have a theme for the trip of human joy, connection, and resiliency. Is our nation crumbling, in a way that we cannot prevent? If so, how do we move forward? How can we stay meaningfully connected to each other? How can we dream into new futures that will benefit all of humanity, under—and/or, ideally, after—this new reality?
I know there are people out there asking themselves these questions, and some are coming up with inspiring and creative answers. I want to connect with these people. I want to support them emotionally and/or spiritually. I want to spread the word of their ideas and projects (to the extent they feel comfortable doing so) with others. As always, I want to connect folks with each other, to strengthen their abilities to be successful.
I have already spent the last four years building a life for myself that would allow me to quickly jump into this sort of travel. Weather-wise, since most of my destinations are in the Midwest and Northeast, I’m thinking I’d like for it to happen in late summer. Amtrak is currently fully funded for FY 2025, but that fiscal year ends September 30, so it’s less clear what might be possible for me after that. I’m thinking I’ll plan to stay in Portland this spring and early summer, cat sitting and enjoying the weather we wait all year for in this region, but I might embark earlier if logistics called for it.
For example, one section I still need to do is the track that runs to Bakersfield, California, from both Sacramento and Oakland. Bakersfield is scorching hot in the summer, so I might do that segment as early as this coming week—I’ve got a two-week cat sitting gap, so the timing might work out just right. (Do you know anyone in the East Bay, Bakersfield, and/or Sacramento who might enjoy hosting me for a few nights, between March 30 and April 9? Please feel free to put us in touch!) Alternatively, I might do this segment of the trip in early-mid May.
My main obstacle is money, and unfortunately it is a significant challenge. I’ve been barely scraping by these past few years, with my income from cat sitting and online English tutoring. Despite my meager earnings this past year, I am also now facing a hefty tax bill, which is causing me no small amount of concern. I will need to somehow manifest a large sum of money to make this Amtrak plan a reality. (A year’s “salary” from fairy godfunding would fit the bill nicely, so if anyone reading this knows of people with extra resources who would feel aligned with my vision, please feel free to connect us.)
So, I am putting this out into the collective consciousness, as my current dream and intention. I hope to be able to write more soon as the vision unfolds. In the meantime, I am always open to new magical meetings with anyone anywhere in the world by video chat. So if you know of anyone who aligns with any aspect of this vision and who might want to chat with me to talk about it, please feel free to put us in touch! These one-on-one magical meetings are the “technology” by which I do much of my work in the world.
Thank you all, as always, for witnessing this and following me on my life’s journey. I wish you all safety, peace, and joy as we move forward.
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