Camelback

Despite the ennui you might THINK you see on Splash's 14yr old face, she's actually THRILLED to have been a poster dog for my fundraising efforts for my TOMS Shoe Drop trip to Argentina.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm hoping to find some meaning and truth in commonalities across my two very diverse trips this month:  the world-famous Inn at Camelback Spa with a dear college friend vs rural villages of Argentina with 14 strangers.  

Sitting in a luxurious robe with 5 other women waiting quietly to be called into our "treatment" rooms, I looked around at the faces, the jewelry, the body language and the choice of reading material. With wide gaps in income, education, health care and opportunities open to them, are these American women happier than their impoverished Argentinian counterparts?  Do they feel more secure in themselves?   Do they feel more or less love and joy? 

I wished I'd broken the polite silence that, despite sitting next to one another naked under identical robes,  seemed an unwritten rule.   I'd have asked the dark headed botoxed beauty next to me, "If happiness could be measured on a scale of 1-10 with 1=none and 10=complete, how would you rate your life?  And if she'd asked the same of me?   Hmmm....dunno....

...But sitting here as the leaves fall like golden flakes from the Colorado aspens I'd say it's a 6, nah... 7.

Holly Hobby Goes Electronic

I started recording my private thoughts about 30 years ago in a Holly Hobby "My First Diary". This sunshine yellow book with lined pages featured a 70's stylized version of Holly on the cover and more importantly, a brass lock and key. Writing my momentous fears (I think Andrew saw my underwear at recess!) and dark secrets (I love Andrew!) seemed of paramount importance second only to hiding them.

Keeping a blog is a bit like writing in a diary so I apologize in advance for any boring, self-absorbed drivel. My efforts in the former are based on my habits in the latter. In other words, bear with me!

I take two trips in October which I hope to compare and contrast in a meaningful way. Firstly, I'll meet a wonderful friend at the elegant Camelback Spa in AZ. A few weeks later, I'll be catapulted along with 14 strangers to the other extreme of the socio-economic scale. We'll be delivering shoes to children in the poverty-stricken rural villages outside Buenos Aires, Argentina as part of a TOMS Shoe Drop.

The coexistence of abundance and scarcity is theme common to many of us, maybe even on a personal level. Witnessing both in a short span of time hopefully will lead me to a deeper understanding of the humanity common to both: joy, suffering, hope, pain, and love.

I hope my journeys resonate with you, touch your heart, and inspire all of us reach out to others to give and receive help.

God bless.