Hello and Welcome to the Solutionary Press.
Thank you all for your valuable feedback and encouragement. Welcome new subscribers and, as always, forwarding or unsubscribing to this newsletter are very simple by using the links below.
How are you doing? The season of gifting is being shared by many and it is always a good time to say I love you. Giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin – one side increasing, the other decreasing. The northern hemisphere is giving its brightest light with its longest night, while the southern hemisphere is receiving that light in its longest day. I guess it’s true that this world cannot be saved; only discovered.
The fall was a steady blur of activity with some exciting progress to report. The website www.whatarelief.net has been updated and the archives of the Solutionary Press can be found at www.solutionarypress.whatarelief.net
This zine, in essence, is a celebration of our collective intelligence/experience. I believe when we get together and share our stories we can solve just about anything, hence the name, Solutionary Press. We are the solution and the good news is, we are in this together. There is always a place for you to offer your tips, stories, poems, & pictures if you feel so inclined. solutions@whatarelief.net
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Home~Office~Moves~Transitions
Develop and Implement New Systems
Events: Logistics, Research, Team Coordination
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Strategist
Collaborator
As a Professional Organizer and/or Life Coach I focus on forming a team with you to help you get on your horse and ride with the wind at your back. Yes you can!
Complimentary Consultations
SPOTLIGHT
The spotlight shines on Gretjen Helene Hargesheimer in this issue. This past summer she lived her dream of riding a motorcycle over 10,000 miles from Boston, Massachusetts to Fairbanks, Alaska, then south ending in San Francisco, California. Teaming up with a new friend, Marty, they made it happen. The carrying out of her dream was not easy. The logistics, steady diet of peanut butter, never ending maintenance of their bikes, days of rain (very wet), and the surprises along the way, tested her commitment daily. But alas, once you are on the road, there is no turning back. Their love of the journey carried them as often is the case when you are following your dream. Somehow you find energy to keep going even if you haven't slept in a week. From somewhere people appear with kind words and warm food encouraging you, and you realize that you are making the journey for them too. It's a momentum that truly fuels itself when we allow it to happen. The triumph of the dream actualized will grow as the seeds of confidence and self worth it has planted inside of them nurture their belief in themselves over their lifetimes. Congrats to both Gretjen and Marty for taking a leap of faith and living to share your story with all of us.
Gretjen is a person of many talents and just one of them is being a gifted photographer. She is available to work with you on your photography projects, both professional and personal.
Her story graces the column and the picture at the top is one of her compositions. She has put together a website with a gallery of the trip for your viewing pleasure www.gretjenhelene.net Be sure to look for the little blue button on the bottom left…it will take you on a memorable scroll to the right across the site at your leisure, while you indulge yourself in her photographs and poems. You can email her at gretjen@gretjenhelene.net
Would you like to be in the spotlight? solutions@whatarelief.net
TIPS
The tips for this issue are about thoughtful gifting. In my work, both as a Professional Organizer and Life Coach, one of the ongoing challenges is to navigate through, and hopefully disperse, clutter - mental, physical, spiritual and emotional. I have observed that a substantial portion of our clutter comes to us as gifts from loved ones. Here are a few ideas that might work for you.
Ask your loved ones what they want. Try to give something that they truly use or need. When in doubt, bake some cookies or offer a gift certificate to a place you know they frequent.
Try to give unconditionally. If you are not sure, ask yourself what your intentions are. Do you want to enrich their lives, or do you want something in return? Will you be personally offended if they don’t like the gift and want to return it or give it to someone else? Giving unconditionally generously reduces mental and emotional clutter, and potentially makes way for great authentic conversation.
One of the indigenous people I studied with taught me that in her tribe when they are going to gift somebody they give something of themselves. In modern times that might translate to offering a favorite vase that you no longer reach for, or, it may be taking the time to make a pretty card. It’s the thought that counts.
Your tips are welcome! solutions@whatarelief.net
In Closing
Thank you Gretjen for sharing your story with us. Your friendship, intelligence, playful spirit, integrity, and never ending gifts and surprises make me smile from the inside out. Long may you run and may all your dreams come true!
I want to thank you all for taking the time to read whatever part(s) caught your attention. I hope you enjoyed the ride. I’ll ‘see’ you in 2007.
Onward and Upward,
DJamil Graham
Your comments and suggestions, as well as your stories/poems, pictures and tips are all welcome. solutions@whatarelief.net
Tel. 617.524.2145
Cell 617.359.7323
www.whatarelief.net
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Epic Journey
I met Marty at
the Framer's Workshop in
Brookline,
MA a few times while I was
framing photographs. I gave him my number and said I'd like to go riding
sometime if two of his motorcycles were running. We rode a few times and our
minds met with similar desire. Two months later we began a day-by-day journey
that would span 10 weeks with $2,000 for 10,000 miles together on two
motorcycles, Beth and Sam, with a destination in mind. We were 'buddies'
looking in the same direction.
I have wanted to ride across the country since I
was dreaming in high school. We would plan out the adventure and Heather wanted
to wear black leather and I was going in brown. Our personalities adorned the
journey with visions of freedom and windy wonder. Now, without concern for
fashion, textiles won over for safety so I picked up some zip-up textile pants
with shin, knee and hips guards. My dad's leather motorcycle jacket was given
to me a year prior and I didn't hesitate to bring it and add miles to the
heritage.
J Braun, the man with wit and knowledge to embed
our plan with experience, gave us a set of rules;
Untitled
1. No ipod, cell phone, gps. Traveling is about
listening to others, not yourself. This is the most important advice I can
offer.
2. Minimalism- lay out everything and then remove
half. Wait 3 days and then remove half of what's left.
3. The slower you go the more you see. If you see
the word "Old" in a road name, take it!
4. Imagination will get you through times of no
money better than money will get you through times of no imagination.
5. Make a plan, set a date, stick to it.
6. Everything will wait.
During our goodbye sushi dinner I asked J about
number 6. He said that everything that bonds us to our home and binds us to our
responsibilities and other interests will be there when we return.
Except for my
two jobs, luckily two months of time were empty in my calendar so that this
trip could be planned. Over time the first month we knew each other, but rather
quickly, ideas began to mingle. Marty had spoken softly a few times about
traveling together. Once he said he would want two months. I thought, how could
he move to
San Francisco
without his motorcycles, and why would he want to? The muse was bold but not
assuming. I felt the idea had to be mutual in order to succeed, so I posed the
idea as a question one evening to see if he could generate the same plan
without encouragement. I asked him, "I have a big idea and if you can
guess it then I'll bake you a blueberry pie. Actually, it's a long idea."
After a few hours he responded, "First I was thinking you wanted to ride
to
San Francisco
with me, but then I thought no…" I paused, "you got it."
Luckily the
blueberry season was still hanging from the bushes when we made it to
Alaska. The funny thing
was that we actually followed the ripe season north. Once we trailed across
Massachusetts,
New York
and into
Canada
in two nights the blueberries were everywhere. Over
Lake Superior,
Ontario
blueberry signs studded the highway guidelines. Before we made it to
Manitoba we had managed
to have two homemade blueberry pies with family friends and neighbor's mothers
along the way. The windy dry and barren central plains didn't allow for wild
berries but our new friends Larry and Sharon of Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan brought them out for every breakfast
during the 8 day stay we shared with them while waiting for motorcycle parts.
Jasper's sights were like eye candy in
Alberta
and the
Yukon Territory
brought the berries closer as we approached the U.S border. After the
handpicked pie dedicated to Marty in
Alaska,
black boysenberries adorned the western coast in the colorful autumn we
experienced on the Cassiar highway heading south.
Vancouver had 30 feet tall bushes hanging
over a stairway and picked clean up to the tallest reach.
Oregon gave us my Aunt T.J's blueberry,
strawberry and rhubarb jam for our modest P.B&J diet on the road.
California was too tall
with sequoias to look at the ground and the ocean surrounded us with waves
crashing on one side and the sound of distance seas echoing off the inland
cliffs. We followed a playful twisting road inland through the orchards and
tasted the grapes of
California
on the street we called home for a short time with Marty's aunt and uncle,
Diana and Bobbi. The trip was sweet and I would taste it again any day. Here
are a few of the stories that came from our epic journey. Enjoy.
www.gretjenhelene.net
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Professional Organizer ~ Life Coach