The Road to Taos

June 15, 2013

 Day 4. Yesterday we woke up in Balmorhea and went swimming one last time. We packed up and headed towards Taos. On the open road driving through the desert we started heading into a huge ominous storm. The entire horizon was deep shades of grey and black being lit only by cracks of lightning. It was entirely against my instincts to drive head on into the dark abyss, but I found it in me to embrace the adventure.... It felt as though we were headed straight into the belly of the beast whose sole intention was to devour us and make us a part of its fluid darkness.
 The wind picked up and the temperature dropped... then the rain came suddenly as if we crossed a line into a monsoon. Lightning, darkness, and angry rain surrounded us... Everything in upheaval around us, but we found liberation in letting go and rolling into the madness... and eventually it ended and the clouds dissipated, as they always do, and we were closer to our destination.
 We made a last minute decision to make it to Santa Fe and stay the night there. We got a cheap hotel and a cheap bottle of wine and found a place in nature to sit, listen to music, and talk. We discovered a trench in the middle of nowhere that happened to have a piece of wood that we used as a table. We talked about magic, love, mystery, destiny... our perceptions of who and why we are who we are. I felt like the moon was smiling at us under the clouds and inspiring and blessing our conversation.
 When it got cold we ventured back to our less than luxurious hotel room, both regretting not camping. We finished the wine and talked about ourselves more feeling uninhibited. It's the first time Frank opend up to me and discussed personal things about himself. I feel like we were able to reach a new level in our friendship. We were honest and open without fear of judgement from each other. It was almost like therapy, or detoxing emotionally. I look forward so much to getting to know him more and feel like the universe has its reasons for pairing us up for this trip. I think we are going to learn a lot from each other.
 Today we went to this raw foods restaurant called Mama Pacha. The place was full of spiritual posters and healing herbs, barks, powerders and elixirs... things I've never heard of. The owner was still opening when we got there, floating around the shop going at his own pace with stillness and ease. I ordered the curry kelp noodles with veggies and raisins. It was the best raw food I've ever had, and I go to a lot of raw food places. I asked the owner if he had taken culinary classes and how he learned about how to make all these things, and he just replied with humility he just learned to do it himself and decided to open a shop one day... No experiencing owning a business. I got flooded with inspiration. Who says we need to spend a fortune getting a business degree or culinary degree to be successful? With passion anything is possible, and structured education has always dampened my passion. Meeting people like this, living easy and outside the box... full of simplicity and humility, reminds me I can do anything. You just learn how to do it.
 On the way to Taos we passed amazing Earth Ship houses that looked like unique castles spawned purely from imagination. Again a reminder of what we are capable of doing with our lives and our reality. Soon we came upon a bunch of hippies selling their trades on the side of the road, seemingly random in the middle of the desert. We passed over a bridge and completely by surprise we saw the incredible and majestic Rio Grande gorge. The winding crystal clear river flowing steadily through. The energy here is so pure, I feel my heart being healed. It's as if the mountains and wind are sending me millions of years of love and wisdom. It ignites my soul with a deep and profound stillness and peace. Breathing it in, letting it permeate my being.
   Entering Taos now.