Announcement!

I have an announcement to make…alert the media…I’m moving 1492 miles away to Michigan—SOON!!! I moved to Utah from Cambridge, MA in August of 1989. I have now been here for over half of my life, the past 11 of which I have absolutely loved and embraced. I have developed an amazing community of friends and acquaintances, loved all the work I’ve been able to do from personal coaching, to public speaking, to teaching in offices and rehabs all over the Wasatch Front, to my Moon Show Community, youth group and the Jung Society. My life here has been sooo full. 

I have also been sooo blessed to live in my own little paradise for 8 of the past 11 years in what I have dubbed “The Enchanted Cottage” from the moment I laid eyes on it. It  has truly become sacred ground for me, also affectionately known as simply, “The Cottage” to all of its intimate inhabitants. I have often referred to it as ‘my Soul Mate’—kind of strong for a place, but if you know me, you know it’s true for me. How does one leave such a place/love? "How will Laurie leave her beloved cottage?", you may wonder (or not)? 

What I know, is that in the 8 years that I have been fortunate to live here, there has never been a single day that I have woken up here (no matter what was going on in my life), that the view out my bedroom window (in EVERY season), has not simply taken my breath away, and that I have not been in total gratitude for it, and loved it with all my heart. Not been a day that I have just walked by it, not noticed its magnificence and majesty, or taken it for granted. I have been completely in-love, en-grossed, en-raptured and captivated, like a lover with her beloved on a daily, often hourly basis. 

I have spent literally thousands of dollars feeding birds, deer, squirrels, skunks, raccoons and inadvertently mice and a few rats on this property (which then served to feed all the hawks, falcons, fox and coyotes). I have been a great steward over the almost acre of land, and with countless helpers, have beautified, transformed and improved the landscape immeasurably for a mere ‘renter’. I have shared this beautiful space with family, friends, roommates and those seeking refuge in a peaceful place at various times in their lives. I have offered this healing space to numerous events, moon shows, spiritual activities, girls’ nights, meditations, yoga, annual Winter/Summer Solstice parties, and an occasional Blue Moon party or two. I’ve met with clients for tea and sessions on the fort, patio and library. I have literally opened my magical space to hundreds, if not thousands of people in the time I have been here (even after being robbed more than once). I have truly loved, honored, and revered this place at a level that most will never know or appreciate. 

Because of the above, and many more experiences too sacred to even share that occurred here, I feel like I can go, with joy in my heart.  A favorite quote since my mid-teens comes to mind:

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.”― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

I feel like I’ve embodied this quote at the Enchanted Cottage. I’ve ‘sucked the marrow out of life’ here, and as this chapter comes to a close, I discover that I have lived deliberately and  fully and because of that, have no regrets. 

I leave nothing, because the spirit of love, peace, balance, abundance, fertility, creativity, and magic I've experienced here, lives within me. I take it wherever I go. It lives on. 

I often say it is because everything is so temporary, that it is so fucking beautiful. I have learned to live my life with this awareness—realizing that nothing lasts forever, so I get to appreciate it, all of it, while it lasts. To ‘suck the marrow’ if you will, out of every sunset, butterfly sighting, flower, friendship, season, and relationship…especially those rare ones that something within you, tells you to ‘pay attention to, this is special’, those once-in-a-lifetime chance occurrences, that if you’re smart enough not to miss or fuck-up, can change your life forever. 

“Love is the way messengers from the mystery tell us things.~Rumi”  “Messengers from the mystery” is such a great way to describe that inner-voice that I just know when I hear it. It’s undeniable. It has never failed me. It is clear as a bell. When I hear/feel it, I am compelled. 

So for me, I lose/leave nothing. I just walk innocently, openly— trusting and following a greater yes within me—a pull that is so strong it’s palpable, into the arms of my destiny, named Ron. 

I think it's interesting that it's 1492 miles from SLC to Detroit. All you good history students will remember the song, "In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue..."  It feels like there is 'new territory' for me to explore, meaning relationship, partnership, and co-creation not Detroit. I feel a little bit like Columbus, not knowing what he will discover, but excited and brimming with possibility. 

It's with a light and joyful heart that I share this major 5.0 life transition. So grateful for all the love and friendships that I have been so abundantly blessed with here. 

I have learned sooo much already in making this choice, following my heart, letting go, choosing love, etc. When I'm not packing, I'll be writing (also my destiny).