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As I drove from my last and very wonderful workshop in Vernon home to Nelson, I looked back on the trip I had taken around the province and began to think of a world where each person follows her or his inspiration in contributing to life, each person allows themselves to be moved by what brings him or her alive, and each person receives wonderful and abundant support from others who are so happy to contribute, similar to how I had received support over the last two and a half months on my RTC journey.  Then I imagined the greater intelligence of the universe, whatever you might want to call it, as a kind of genie (perhaps a sometimes bored genie who might be wildly gesticulating at us, doing naked handstands, or throwing lanterns at us in an effort to get our attention) who is standing by, waiting for us to trust our deepest longings, at which time the genie jumps up and says, "Alright!  Yes!  Now I can shower you with this abundance of support that I've been dying to give to you.  Thank you for stepping up.  It is so fun for me to surprise you with resources you never would have thought of receiving when you were holding yourself back.  You're going to love it because a lot of my support is going to come through people you will meet along the way who also get to have the fun of helping you.  And, thank you, thank you, I receive so much in return from your inspired unfolding."   

I saw the genie as also part football coach and part dance teacher reminding us that no one can find a willingness for us for us, no one can do our sprints and push-ups, leg-lifts and plies for us, and no one can stop us from focussing on lack and on what isn't working.  But when we follow our heart's desire with persistence and start seeing the abundance that is already here, look out; the genie/dance teacher/ football coach throws an Ice Cream Social in celebration.

If this vision sounds a little too "new agey" or "feel goody" or just plain weird, I can hardly help it.  I'm celebrating the completion of my first Road to Compassion.  And based on the miracle of support I received from so many people, my guess is that my genie/football coach/dance teacher metaphor is an understatement of what is going on behind the curtains and what visions are possible.

For my Road to Compassion trip and for all those who helped me, I am grateful beyond what I can convey in a blog.  My heart expands out over time and space and beams thank you's that are more sweet and delicious than any ice cream social you could imagine to all who supported me on my Road to Compassion.  I especially want to thank all the workshop organizers: Louise, Pat, Karen, Ginette, Goji, Tamara, the Haida Heritage Center, and Lynn.  And thank you to Mika and BCNCC for your help with spreading the news of my trip.  Thank you, thank you, to all who gave me a place to stay, fed me, and took me hiking, biking, swimming, and trampolining.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to all those who came to my workshops.  Thank you to my family and friends who gave me lots of encouragement.  Thank you to everyone who took time to read my blogs and thank you to those who sent me words of appreciation and encouragement.  Thank you to our sub-letters who took such wonderful care of our home. Thank you Rosa for carrying me and all my stuff around the province. Thank you Marshall for developing Nonviolent Communication and sharing it with the world.  And thank you Melody for your tremendous help with getting the Road to Compassion going.

I like the final words of Elizabeth Gilbert's book Eat, Pray, Love:

"In the end, maybe it's wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long we have voices."

With Endless Gratitude,
Eric

Epilogue

(I'm not sure that a blog qualifies for an epilogue, but who knows when I'll get another opportunity to write one.)

Following are some valuable things one can learn from living out of a van:

1. Nonattachment.
I have belongings that are strewn across the province, left mostly at the various homes in which I was a guest.  These items include but are probably not limited to a ball cap, a very comfy bamboo and cotton t-shirt, a bed sheet, my old Tilly sun-hat, a hand blender (that was a tough one to forget as smoothies are handy meals for the van dweller), a cutting board and some cutlery, my healthy-diet will power, a merino-wool t-shirt, shampoo and conditioner, and shaving cream.  I lost the lid of the tote box, the one that sits in bike racks on the back of Rosa, when I forgot to strap it down.  I had driven a couple of hours down the road, tote box straps flapping in the wind behind Rosa, before I found out what I had done.  Luckily, all of the contents were still in the tote box. I almost lost my travel mug when I drove off with it sitting on top of Rosa.  Fifteen minutes of driving later I realized what I had done.  I drove back, and when I got to the scene of my absent mindedness, I couldn't find it anywhere, and no one had turned it in at any of the stores adjacent to the parking lot.  Just moments after I had surrendered my search and said farewell to another belonging, I spotted my mug on a fire hydrant where some thoughtful genie had placed it for me to retrieve.  There is an art to traveling around and moving in and out of people's home.  Perhaps part of that art is the leaving of things, a necessary if sometimes unconscious flow of receiving and giving.  And, the best part of losing something is finding it again, especially if you return to people and places you love to find those things.

1a. Pack lightly.
See number 1.

2. Compartmentalize.
Use boxes and bins and bags and containers.  Make the most of hanging things from wherever you can hang them.

2a. Don't over compartmentalize.
Too many boxes and bins and bags and containers can make it hard to remember where you put things.

My favourite Road to Compassion Bakeries and Cafes:

-Jita's in Golden: Yummy chai; warm, cozy atmosphere; great-looking baked goods - unfortunately, at that point on the trip I was still abstaining from sweets, mostly abstaining anyway.
-Hazelton Bakery: great cookies and spelt and kamut bread.
-Cowichan Bakery: incredible poppy-seed cheese sticks and cookies and breads; baguettes made to traditional french specifications; hazelnut bread with large chunks of hazelnuts.
-Hornby Island Bakery:  amazing paninis and chocolat éclairs that would bring a horse to its knees
-The Trout House Bakery/Restaurant just outside of Masset on Haida Gwaii:  incredible food all around;  huge and yummy cookies that you can get warmed up and served with ice cream.
-Queen B in Charlotte City: Some kind of cake/pie thing made out of yesterdays muffins
-The Common Loaf in Tofino: you could kill yourself with a single muffin, they're so big.  The pizza was looking at me with bedroom eyes, but I somehow managed to stare it down.

In case you are feeling concerned for my health and well being, rest assured that I ate lots of healthy food too, although it can be harder to find on the road, and got plenty of exercise. I'm eating better back here in the Shire and still getting plenty of exercise.  After all, I need to stay in shape for future journeys.

Favourite stretches of highway:

-The Columbia Valley - from Cranbrook to Golden
-Golden to Lake Louise
-The Icefield Parkway - Lake Louise to Jasper
-Masset to Knob Hill on Haida Gwaii - when the pulchritudinous early evening sunlight is pouring through the tress
-Highway 6 - from Silverton to Slocan city up above Slocan lake
-Driving by Mt. Robson
-Just about any stretch of highway going through mountains

Highlights from the Road to Compassion:

-Getting up high into the mountains
-Rediscovering my love of writing
-Rediscovering my love for playing guitar and singing
-The wind
-The ocean
-Visiting old friends
-Making new friends
-Playing with children
-Exploring the outer world and inner world with my mother
-Photography - my camera actually ended up in a lake at one point.  Fortunately, it survived, probably due to the fact that it was in its case and was retrieved with cat-like quickness by my friend Sa while it was still near the surface.
-Being inspired by the acrobatics of my friends Lucy and Pippa (and not injuring myself trying to keep up with them).
-My bug net
-Having Mother Nature to myself
-Sharing Mother Nature with friends
-Crying - I did some exquisite grieving on my trip, often within the loving embrace of Mother Nature
-Laughing, and breathing, and celebrating this existence.
(I'm think I'm onto a new therapy.  It's awesome.  It is going to be the next big thing.  It's called Laughcrying or Crylaughing.   Stay tuned for the book, the book tour, and the multi-level training program that culminates with Laughcrying Trainer certification.)
-The people I met

 When I was staying at Kakwa Eco Village, there was a young Japanese woofer there.  Once he asked me what my hobbies were and I listed a few including writing.  "Are you a poemer?" he asked.  I told him that yes, I like to write poetry, and right away I liked the term "poemer".  It has an active feel to it - like painter or writer or sing or sailor - and seems more accessible than the word poet.  I know we are all creative beings who are often held back only by our thoughts of what creativity should look like.  The world needs more creativity, in my opinion.  Creativity and Coming Alive are two birds drinking from the same feeder.  So be a poemer I say, whatever that might look like or sound like, because poemers don't have to look or sound like anything.

Breathe as deeply as ever you can breathe
And who knows what might happen

InInspiration,
Eric

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