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It started with a rainbow. Well, that’s not quite right. What is the starting point in any event that you have experienced? Was it a childhood dream? An idea that flashed through your young girl mind? Or did it start in the Costco parking lot in Manitou Springs, Colorado.

There, in an SUV filled with snacks, water and general supplies, I turn to Christine Kathryn and make a declaration. “I am never doing this again!” The “this” was providing every aspect of the retreat: food, program, housing, on and on. It helps to keep the cost down for participants, but the cost of energy and attention on me is enormous.

Right then and there I call Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos, New Mexico. A place I know and love. A retreat center that provides everything except the program. Bonnie answers their phone and within minutes I had a date.

Back home I have a lengthy application to complete before they would accept my program. Stepping out the front door I take a break. Looking west, the direction of Taos, a beautiful rainbow greets me. The magic doesn’t end there. Back in the house, I open a magazine to a page that says rainbows are powerful symbols of abundance. A good omen.” I am now sure this is my direction.

It isn’t just the Sangre de Cristo mountain, the Native American culture, or artistic vibe that make me love Taos. It’s also the women of Taos. Mabel came there to mend a fragmented life. A powerhouse of a woman who created a life with determination and creativity. Georgia O’Keeffe was a woman who persisted. Both were women who’d be themselves at any cost. To be oneself, to stand by each part of ourselves the brilliant as well as the banal is such hard work.

Are the signs such as rainbows just accidental? My sister Mickey calls them, “God winks.”

This brings us back to a choice point. We get to decide. Are there guideposts that direct us? Is the universe alive and participating in our journey? A life lived in a live universe that speaks to us is different from a silent universe.

Einstein said, we must answer if this is a friendly universe or not.

I think it is.

To me a friendly universe would offer clues like …

rainbows.

Photo by Cindy Crosby

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