I believe in the power of laughter to unite us beyond all differences.
And what hits our funny bone depends greatly our personal life experiences, age, culture, etc.
Last Spring I wrote and read a full length comedy show expanding on a short set I’d performed many times.
When pushed by one of my sons’ friends who knew I was working on stand up, I offered what I hoped might be my most relatable joke in progress for a group of 17-20 year-old boys who were hanging out with my sons.
Wee smiles might have cracked, but for the most part the energy was dead in the room.
“You are so NOT FUNNY, mom!”
They vowed to never listen to my comedy again.
Though the joke was anything but, often they also tell me “Mom, you are too spiritual.”
I love my sons beyond the stars and back and actually encourage them to be real with me even when it might not be something easy for me to hear.
They help me lighten up about self seriousness and see where I am way not relatable to their generation.
For context about this story of how I inadvertently gave the best comedy performance of my life to my sons and directly experienced the power of intention, I live and grew up in drought and wildfire country so I have always respected water, but never as much as I do now after visiting the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica in the rainy season this June.
I am most accustomed to conserving water, checking air quality resources to avoid smoke, and praying for more rain.
September 8, 2020 a blaze destroyed 2500 homes in the small towns just two miles south of where I live on a small farm in Southern Oregon. High winds flung embers to dry brush igniting miles of flames in record time. Already low reservoirs were further depleted to douse the fires.
I respect water as the precious, life-giving resource she is and say many prayers of gratitude for the way she flows up from our well despite years of under-average rainfall.
For many reasons I suppose, majestic beauty, the commanding rush of energy and sound of a mass of water thundering over rocks down to a pool below, I have longed for more time around waterfalls.
My beloved and I visited Plaikni Falls near impressive Crater Lake last summer as smoke poured into her valley and chased us away.
I envisioned a sacred sanctuary with a waterfall to swim under every writing session of Alicia Dattner’s Write Here Now online embodied creativity classes. In my imaginary place, I have a writing hammock slung across to bask and write in where I feel the gentle mist of the falls and watch the sun create rainbows.
In that same class I worked on my first full-length comedy set.
I believe in our power to conjure and create with life from our visions and prayers.
I believe in the immense power of joining with other aligned beings to collaborate and recognize there is more than plenty for all beings to live in harmony and dignity with full resource.
Fast-forward to this summer, June 2022.
Our prayers for water have been heard in Southern Oregon. We had a white Christmas with snow on the ground for more than two weeks! We’ve had spring and even summer rains! Blessed be the return of the waters to our parched land! Continue to bless us! We still need more to fill our aquifers and reservoirs and thank you thank you for what has blessed our land thus far!
After my youngest cub graduates from high school, I have the immense honor and pleasure of a trip to Costa Rica with my mom and sons to stay at the Bosque del Cabo Eco Lodge on the Osa Peninsula that my dear friend & college roommate Kim has been operating with her husband Phil for the last 25 years!
We know it is the rainy season and expect high humidity and rain.
We arrive and are graciously dropped at Casa Miramar, a delightfully open grouping of round, thatched-roof structures without any windows or doors, even screens! Our view of the regal Pacific ocean is socked-in by clouds. When the clouds begin to let go, the sky is a waterfall! The mist comes into our bedrooms, moistening every item on the small desk on which I arrange a few art supplies, books and altar items.
The rain sends critters in seeking shelter. My son Nicolas with whom I’m sharing a room has always been super squeamish around spiders and starts finding them crawling up under the mosquito netting around his bed. He is too freaked out to sleep. We have to shout to talk across the room as the rain continues to waterfall from the sky.
I accept that this may be a week of deluging rain and receive her with a smile, wondering if this heavy rain is somehow an answer to my prayers for more time with waterfalls. I encourage my son to ask the rain what she wants to show him, perhaps the spiders too.
He’s not having it!
Though we all loved Casa Miramar, we decide to move to more protected lodging.
The rain pauses plenty and we enjoy many many activities under blue skies. We zip line through the rainforest and rappel down trees; hike to the Pacific and up a stream to receive a thundering waterfall massage; ride surefooted horses through mud, across rivers and gallop along the beach; are entertained and enraptured by scarlet macaws, parrots, toucans, spider, squirrel and howler monkeys, coati, wild boar, anteater, hawk, toads, black n green tree frogs, tarantula, wolf, golden orb and Brazilian wandering spiders, snakes, sloth, who am I missing? We have a surfing lesson and all stand and ride several waves! The guys go deep sea fishing and catch two yellowfin tunas that the chef uses to feed many travelers in many meals until we depart. Lots of water adventures, but none to fully prepare me for our final excursion.
When rain comes we receive her and give thanks for our new accommodations that we can all rest well in.
Each adventure builds until our last, a horseback ride and hike to the top of a 100-foot waterfall to rappel down.
I pause at the top to give thanks to the waters and our guides who have secured our harnesses and the one quiet slim young man who goes ahead to steady the rope from the bottom as each of us make our descent.
I have no idea what awaits on the other side of the edge of the lip of the falls. We cannot view it, only hear its roar from the path we climb on foot to reach the top.
My wasband now dear friend, father of my only two sons, now strapping 18 & 20 year-old young men, goes first so he can video the three of us on our way down.
Monkey son Nicolas goes next, and I follow him, leaving Welle the older son to descend last.
I do my best to follow the instructions given by our guide. I attempt to keep my legs wide and steadily release rope to rappel down, but almost immediately after the guide at the top captures the smiling photo above a strong rush of water pours over me, taking my left contact lens off my pupil knocking me off-balance.
I had a scleral buckle surgery to fasten down the retina on my left eye so am extremely near sighted in that eye.
I attempt to regain center with severely limited vision and can barely hear either guide’s instructions over the thundering water.
I know I have to do my best to steady on down but all I want to do is rest where the water cannot deluge me again!
Somehow, with lots of swings and bumps along the way, I make it to the bottom with my right lens still in my eye.
Monkey son is still cracking-up over my bumbling descent.
Wasband is kind and gracious receiving me with concern for my well-being.
We all turn our attention to Welle who descends with grace and perfect form, not faltering once!
We pose for celebration photos and proceed back down our path to our horses.
I realize my left lens was washed off-center but is still in the back of my eye. Phew!
I make my descent with only my right eye seeing clearly, the left eye making an impressionist painting of the views of Gulfo Dulce bay and steep trail.
Despite my limited vision, I join the gallop across the field at the bottom to complete our adventure!
Later enjoying yet another delicious lunch at the Bosque del Cabo restaurant, we watch the videos Papa C took of our rappelling.
I laugh so hard I almost pee my pants, another type of waterfall, wink, smile.
We all agree that our most challenging circumstances and experiences so often give us the greatest gratitude and satisfaction once we have overcome them.
In this case my bumbling, one-eyed rappel down the falls became a source of raucous laughter for me and the whole family.
I give a comedy performance my sons laugh at after all!
I even have another full outburst of laughter over it when I am tucked into my bed alone listening to the rainfall pouring from the sky that night.
Oh waters continue to flow into our parched lands.
Thank you for showing your power and uniting my family and me in laughter that rolled and rolled like the thundering waterfall.
