The introvert gets social

I had such a busy weekend, socially speaking. Saturday morning I went to the tai chi bbq at the beach. 30ish people were there, doing tai chi in the wet sand, in the misty fog. It was BEEEEEEAUTIFUL. Some beautiful pictures were taken. We were there probably 4 hrs.

Then we went to friends' birthday parties (a joint party for a 2 yr old & a 3 yr old) and had a great time. There were several families we knew there and the company was great and everything, but I started to feel really... kinda well, overwhelmed by my introverted self being out in community like that all day. I was feeling the need to just be alone, be at home. Not in a bad way, just in a... wow, this is so unlike me way.

Sunday I went to another hs'ing family's place - they've just moved here from the mainland and bought (get this) 130 acres! They were having a work party as they're building an addition (a home office) onto the back of their garage. It's clay slip infill and basically you coat the wood chips completely with liquid clay slip and then tamp it into a wall form. It's a natural building technique. I was loving it. 10 adults and I knew none; I was having to introduce myself and be social but at the same time just loving and so passionate about what we were doing! Still, after an hour and a half, my cuticules and nails were TRASHED from the wood chips and clay mix. They were actually BLEEDING. yikes!

After lunch there I cleaned up and headed to a tai chi demo at the local park where the local orchestra was having a free outdoor concert. So while people arrived we did tai chi to some canned orchestra music playing over the speakers at this absolutely gorgeous park that overlooks the water. And it was a beautiful experience. I'm so glad we got to do that.

So I had a busy weekend, socially. Today I spent 4 hrs at the farm (my fingertips are so sore from yesterday and then weeding and transplanting today!). I have the luxury of an afternoon alone.

That being said, there is much I should be doing: cleaning up the house (mostly picking up toys), walking the neighbour's dog who we're looking after for a couple days, finishing a certain magazine article that's embarassingly past its deadline, gardening and yardwork, getting this month's raw food order together. Lots to do and the sun is now shining so I'd better get on with it.

One thing one of the natural builder guys said yesterday at lunch is that you'll only ever be as (fill in the blank: successful (however you define that), happy, healthy, whatever) as the 5 people you spend most of your time with. That's a powerful thought. Think for a moment about the 5 closest people you spend your time with. Are they heading places in life that you want to be headed? Because it's totally true. You're creating, through your association with these people, your own life. And if they're not living a life you'd want to live, you need to make some changes for yourself.

NAMASTE'