A Cathartic Morning

Travel has consistently challenged my sense of stereotypes and my formation of judgments. We arrived in San Luis Obispo, CA, on Sept. 3rd, tired, as usual, from our 7 hour drive. All we really want to do is get into our Airbnb, which we have booked for a month. Now, remember we have only seen this in pictures and have paid ... well just say...a lot...so our expectations are high. We turn into our street and I wince...uh oh! Lawrence Avenue seems to be a bit gritty and I am very apprehensive about our choice of Airbnb. Cars line both sides of the street, houses are small, in need need attention, some under construction, others are covered with overgrown "landscape". (I'm being nice here.) This is when I made a judgment about the street and was instantly disappointed as to the area we chose. To my surprise this is what we found at the top of the hill. Our house...

and a few others.

Then comes my cathartic morning. I usually do a short guided meditation in the mornings before I get out of bed by a man named Cory Muscara from Mindfulness.com. This morning it began with the benefits of getting ouside, taking in nature and your surroundings. Great idea! Michael was still sleeping so at 7 AM I tiptoed out of the house and walked just to the bottom of the road and back, maybe 3/4 of a mile. It took me longer than it should have because I kept stopping to take pictures. I saw things close up that I missed riding in the car and I knew I would have to show them to you. I have been so bored with the same old cookie-cutter houses and neighborhoods of the many suburbs I have lived in and some of the people who have lived in them too, yet the minute I get a view of something messy or different I make a negative judgment about it. But as I walked I was so amazed at the beauty, diversity, funkiness and individuality of these homes and I loved them. Then I had this thought flash through my mind "I would like to meet these people." Whoa! What about the gritty I saw at first? And then I smiled and a cathartic smile it was. Thank you Cory for nudging me this morning to spend time in nature! My judgment was based on a stereotype of these small homes and, therefore, of the people who live in them. It was the creativity of their yards that loosened the strings that bound me. So here is a closer look at what I originally thought looked like crappy little houses and now see as different and inviting.

i