Impermanence

My Life on the Road

Six years ago, on the full wolf moon lunar eclipse in January, I learned several great lessons about impermanence and attachment. My house burned down due to mice chewing through nearly century-old electrical wire, and I lost every worldly thing. I owned a vehicle, which did not get damaged by the fire, but everything inside the house was lost, as was the house itself. I didn’t own the house, and I didn’t have renter’s insurance. I discovered how quickly one’s life can take a very precarious turn. In a single night, I lost all of my possessions and my home, without any financial kickback in the form of insurance. My family gave me a little money, but not much, and my friends helped out as best as they could. Certainly, the financial help I received was nowhere near sufficient to consider building or buying a new home. Or even renting a home for very long.

I had to make another plan, but making plans was not my strong suit. All of the plans I had previously made in my life, well, let’s just say they had not gone according to plan. Being a lawyer turned out to be a ridiculous joke. Have you tried being an out, gay lawyer in a MAGA town? It doesn’t work. At least it didn’t for me. Staying in the bubble of Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh didn’t work for me, either. At this point in my life, I was well into my thirties, and nothing worked. I had decided to quit being a lawyer, and I had planted a field of lavender. Much to my amazement, the lavender worked. The lavender grew, and I loved the lavender. Moreover, people loved the lavender. People came from all over the state to U-pick lavender at Old Field Lavender Farm. If I still had the lavender field next to the old farm house, I do believe I would be set for life. The old farmhouse was so charming, and it was already becoming a destination spot on Airbnb without the lavender field. With the lavender field in place, I believe the destination spot of the charming old farmhouse would have boomed. But it wasn’t meant to be. Fate wanted me to walk a different path. The Universe put me on the road for my spiritual awakening.