Life Raft - 2010

Santa Fe and beyond…

     Wife and son beside me, I set out on a new path to converge with a journey that I thought I had lost - headed toward Santa Fe to co-conduct a workshop on personal development, communication and improvisation.

     The road from Southern California to Santa Fe is glorious with spectacular changes of geography, weather and culture. Old legendary Route 66 occasionally shows its surviving two lanes as you take the modern highway from the coast on through the desert to the mountain passes and across the rim country to the high plateau and then descend into the Rio Grande valley. At Albuquerque you say good-bye to faithful 40 and old 66 and head north on a different road toward the southern base of the Rockies… and Santa Fe.   

     It was at this juncture that I suddenly realized that my life would never be the same again.    

     From orange grove days to beach bonfires to suburban boom and ethnic evolution… from limitless dreams to running with the bighorn to Hollywood hills and ego implosion… from fear of death to fear of life to corporate towers and salivating greed, I was moving on.

     Perfect waves and soft sand delight the crowds in the gentle sea breeze. From the beach, you can see all the way to the mountains across the great basin that cradles the ever changing megalopolis of Los Angeles. As a young boy, crawling on the warm sand and dragging my crippled leg, I first heard the call from somewhere on the mountain and beyond. The call was to heal – myself and then others.

     My leg healed but my heart faltered.

     Through teaching, performing and writing, I began to try and help others and found that indeed, I had an aptitude if not the right attitude to make a positive difference. I saw significant success as my students and audience resonated with what I had to offer. The realization of my aptitude for healing culminated at a conference in Desert Hot Springs when I held the gnarled hand of an elderly woman and saw the hand unfold to her tears and shock. It scared the crap out of me and I ran away… for more than twenty years I ran from the responsibility of dealing with the unfolding of the gnarled hand.

     It was only appropriate that I landed in the corporate tower and was seduced by power, materialism and greed.

     Fortunately, I survived the corporate jolt of power just as I had survived the hedonism of Hollywood and I returned to my roots, where I began to retrieve and repair my spirit.

     Now, the money is almost gone. Debt is extreme. Survival has become paramount and I’ve taken my own advice in these challenging times.

     Figure out what you do best, do it better, and do it more.

     As we headed north toward Santa Fe, I was visited by an old friend, Fear. This time I did not run. I said “yes” to Fear, “thank-you for your input, but I’m moving on. You will always be my ally but never again will you rule me, for now I am once again following my vision, I have returned to my path and I am stepping back into the light.”

     The workshop in Santa Fe was wonderful. Much was learned and there was abundant joy. It was a glorious new beginning and I thank Elsie Maio, Vern Oakley and my wife and son for their belief and support for the mission at hand.

Fork in stream

comes back together

same stream, different way

Rob