2021 Road Trip: Florida

Few people know this, but when I left Florida in 2012 I had the intention of returning home to heal the wounds of the past and work on community building projects.

I didn’t know that I would be gone for nine years working on this project, growing, and learning. I was gone so long, I forgot why I left. Coming back to Orlando reminded me of my original intention.

Which raises the question: What did I learn in those nine years about healing and community building?

In short, both are messy… and worth it.

Healing and community building both require surrender and allowing to come to fruition. As Momma Rose put it, “I just allow people to be who they are and they just show up and find connections in each other.”

This human experience is all about the connections, the lessons, and emotion.

At the end of the journey, I have been transformed into a hologram, unafraid to feel anything and everything that this journey has to offer.

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As we come into the Age of Aquarius and an influx of the divine feminine I am finding a new balance between doing and being in everyday life. And like the story from “The Alchemist” by Paula Coelhe, I am discovering that sometimes the long way home is preferred.

Returning to Florida marks a true completion of an era in my life.

Heaven on Earth lies just around the corner. I can’t wait to see you there.

The first day in Orlando we walked around Lake Eola and got Vietnamese food for lunch. Then we visited the Pulse Memorial. The vibe was intense. A wall of photographs commemorating the event surrounds the club. You can see the pain of loss and the sweetness of connection in the photos.

When the Pulse shooting happened, I was performing at Pridefest Milwaukee. The following day there were metal detectors at every entrance and a special security detail to escorted us to the backstage area of the Dance Pavilion. I was anxious to be performing as David Bowie center stage. Nothing happened in Milwaukee that night, but the crowd was somber. The following year, I was blessed to be in a position to participate in and choreograph a piece for a tribute. The piece was a slow and delicate fire performance set to “Imagine” sung by the Penatonix.

Seeing the memorial grounded the connection between the tribute piece and the people who were directly affected that night. Many of the friends I connected with on this leg of the trip brought up the shooting and how it impacted their life. It was a terrible thing that happened and I hope that we can recognize how much more connected we are than disconnected. The event forged new bonds and made old ones stronger.

Love conquers all… “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope some day you’ll join us and the world will live as one.”

Being on the road can be physically taxing. I’ve been in a fair amount of pain and had some pretty wicked migraines. A friend from South Africa suggested I head over to St. Petersburg to meet up with Alex the Bush Ninja and get a healing balm created from over 50 different exotic healing plants.

This healing balm was a god send. He is the traveling type and teaches classes on medicine healing all over the world. He gave me a tutorial on how the balms are created as he put together the salve. We had a really beautiful exchange and as advertised, the balm worked to relieve aching muscles and my sore head. I highly recommend this guy, he is a beautiful and gentle soul and will create a custom made healing balm for you.

What does it feel like to end a chapter in life and begin a new one?

Taking a long walk along the shore and watching peacefully as the footsteps behind you are swept into the ocean,

looking ahead and seeing that where you are heading has yet to be written.

It’s standing on top the watch tower of your life and witnessing all the pain and beauty wrapped in every moment … listening as the wind whispers back to you the story of your life unfolding.

It’s a bittersweet surrender.

If you ever get the chance to do a modern walk-about, I highly recommend it.

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