Sunday, July 18, 2010
San Francisco
I have just returned from two weeks in San Francisco and the surrounding area. As always, the highlight of the trip was visiting with old friends, renewing my acquaintance with Asian food, attending a museum exhibit (of early Impressionist paintings), and getting out of the city for a weekend on Tomales Bay (north and west of San Francisco).
These experiences reminded me of all I have missed since moving to Boulder exactly one year ago. Where I live now, good Asian food is scarce, as are major art exhibits, cultural events such as ballet, opera, symphony and such.
But--in other ways, I was reminded of why I decided to leave. San Francisco in the summer (and usually the winter as well) must be one of the coldest cities in the country. I had to remind myself to take fleece jackets and warm clothing, for I was leaving ninety degree temperature for mid-50's or thereabouts. And, yes, when I was outside for very long, I immediately began to freeze. Also, instead of busses with polite drivers and few passengers, I once more experienced pressured drivers of huge vehicles, and full loads of passengers. On the streets, one must be ever alert, not drift off into day dreams or altered states. The energy of cities is now very chaotic, with many folk at various levels of tension, some looking for "easy marks."
Because I was almost constantly with other people, I was not able to meditate or write poems, so for two weeks I had a "sabbatical" from my usual routine. I did bring back a few photos of my trip, posted above.
The first three were taken in the Arboretum in Golden Gate Park. I spent one day alone there, and it was a highlight of my trip. The first picture is of flowers in bloom in the park, the second a tree which seems to have mysterious code language inscribed on its bark, and the third is two school children who were part of a group visiting the park.
The last two pictures are from Tomales Bay--a boat at anchor in the bay (how do the owners get back and forth to this boat? we wondered), and the gate in the small garden of the cottage where I was staying.
Everything was lovely, but it was also nice to get back home, back "into my body," to meditate and write poetry again. Kundalini, for me, seems to require time alone, focused concentration, and the right circumstances to invite the divine presence to "come in."
