SUBLIME ADVENTURES IN WYOMING
I’ve been in Wyoming for two weeks now.
Taylor & I flew to Jackson to shoot some documentary film interviews and to attend the birth of my dear friend’s fourth baby.
The baby has taken his sweet time and close to some 2+ weeks later, he still has not yet arrived, affording me an adventure of a lifetime.
Right now, I’m sitting in a comfy chair overlooking the snow-capped Grand Teton mountains.
Recently settled into a new, comfy airbnb, Taylor and I just came back from an epic 10-day adventure, living life out of a sprinter van.
The first time we changed our plans to stay a little longer, it was the 4th of July weekend and it was nearly impossible to get a place to stay, so … I looked on Turo.com and saw a sprinter van.
A sense of wild adventure called me. It felt indulgent. And crazy. A little scary.
Could I possibly do this?!!
Could I drive a big van like that?
Could I allow myself to have that much fun?
We dove in head first.
We traded in our speedy little car for a top heavy van and put all of our belongings into it.
We called it our ‘bourgeois camping’ experience.
At first, we first hung around Jackson waiting for the baby.
When we realized he might need more time than we thought, we drove north to Yellowstone.
After 10 days of driving around and living out of the van, I felt nostalgic giving back the keys.
I learned something.
My body craves adventure. Being open & free!
The juxtaposition of deep submersion in wild nature along with meeting strangers in momentary synchronistic interactions intensified by the openness to the elements.
Seeing a river and just jumping into it when I feel like it.
Driving through stunningly beautiful national parks, with the option to stop for the night almost anywhere on the road.
Waking up and immediately stepping outside to see the sun rising.
Boiling tea or coffee and drinking it while enjoying the breeze and the expanse of wherever we happen to be.
Striking up conversations with anyone we come across and sharing moments of human connection.
Spotting wildlife (bears, foxes, moose, bison) and staring in awe at their beauty. It stops you in your tracks and there’s a moment of mutual acknowledgement of presence on the planet.
Jaws dropping at the steam vents, boiling mud pots and geysers in Yellowstone.
Gathering handfuls of wild strawberries and delighting in their bursts of flavor.
Soaking our feet in hot springs water known to have brain-eating amoebas (ok, just don’t get water up your nose!) and dunking in the rivers.
Bushwacking and going off trail all over in the Tetons and in Yellowstone, acutely listening to signs, sounds and sensations from the environment, with sometimes eerie sensations (it is bear country after all).
When we drove back from Yellowstone, I was taken aback at my sadness in leaving the wild.
After having spent only a handful of days in total wilderness, there was a slight reluctance to rejoin the modern world again.
I’ve been trying to pinpoint what that is.
I believe it’s a familiar sensation from when I was a kid, living in the midwest, spending so much of my time outdoors.
A sense of adventure, of the unknown, while being fully plugged in to the mystery and beauty of Mother Nature.
There’s no plan.
You don’t know that you’ll find handfuls of wild strawberries.
You have no idea you’ll stumble upon so many varieties of wild orchids or high-elevation water lilies. It feels like a gift from the Earth! Like we are guided to all the right places where they’ll be visible.
There’s no preconception of what it feels like to have waves and waves of soft stream water move across – and seemingly through – your body as you cross a stream waist high. In that moment, you stop all movement, arrested by the beauty of what feels like becoming one with the water and the environment around you.
Or, how the cold mountain runoff rivers shock your cells, wake up your skin suit and linger for an hour or so on the top inch surface of your body.
You can’t anticipate how you’ll experience the humor, heart or freedom to be yourself with absolute strangers on the path.
There’s something about getting out into the wild places that makes me feel more alive.
I feel the power of the elements.
The vast, pristine lakes, the old pine trees, the tall grasses, the massive mountainsides with all shades of green that nourish the eyes. The insane amount of wildflowers splashing the landscapes.
Feeling so connected to the land, the breeze, the botanicals, the movements of the sun and the moon.
I share this, both as a reminder to you and as a future reminder to myself, of just how much I love this experience.
In fact, there’s a part of me that absolutely craves it.
I miss the wildness and freedom of our flower collection trips in Iceland, Costa Rica and Taiwan.
Since 2020, I’ve had my head down to the grindstone:
- Oversaw renovations at the SAN Center
- Hosted a Montessori school in 2020-21
- Partnered with healing practitioners
- Sponsored multiple Flowerlounge tours
- Invested in 7 new real estate properties
- Created and released Expansion, Sacred, Divine and Awaken series of flower remedies
- Hired, supported, encouraged (and even let go of) many in my organization
- Explored new expressions of leadership, teamwork and communication
- Went on pilgrimage to Nepal/India to learn new spiritual practices
- Expanded my morning practice to a committed 2-3 hours daily
- Raised money for multiple organizations and families affected by disasters
- Hosted a profound, life-changing Medicine Buddha healing meditation retreat
- Went on one of the fiercest inner battles/healings/teachings of my life
I’m proud of everything that the team of beautiful humans at LW and SAN has created – and the community that has joined us in the inner & outer expansion.
And – I believe I’ve come out on the other side of all of this.
I’m ready for more adventures like the one I’m having right now.
I share this with you honestly – because maybe you too have a part of you that has worked really hard, been through the wringer, had to face fears, battled yourself, surrendered and found new expressions.
Maybe there is a part of you that is freshly emerging again, closer to your childlike innocence and wonder – that seeks more ease, vibrancy and openness.
If the word adventure doesn’t resonate with you, maybe it’s Freedom.
Wildness. Connection. Synchronicity. Ability to be your raw self.
Self-acceptance. Patience. Wisdom. Awareness. Ease. Allowing.
Beauty. Cherishing every moment. Enhanced sensory perception.
Whatever you want to call it, I am calling in all the flowers for a future SUBLIME series.
My intention is to locate the flowers that will support us in making life easier, more adventurous and fun.
I think we’ve all worked hard for long enough.
Now it’s time to scale our enjoyment.
Enjoyment as an axis for freedom, expansion, truth and fearlessness.
Pure intentions to benefit humanity that express themselves with ease – rather than struggle or overworking to the detriment of our bodies.
I want you to make time to explore what it is for you –
and manifest the project that is so ‘fun!’ that you cannot refuse yourself.
That you don’t care what other people think. That you can face any criticism.
And in a way that your joy is absolutely infectious!
We’re at the halfway point of the year – still feeling the vibes of the Full Moon in Capricorn, which beckons us to know what we want and create the wild freedom in ourselves to be able to commit to it.
Here’s the most important part of this:
What is it for you?
What project/s do you want to devote yourself to?
Can you allow yourself to choose something that will be so joyful, so full of ease and freedom that it will become infectious to everyone around you?
Can you make NOW the time to understand on a more visceral level what it is to run enough flower remedies through your system … that you get to a point of more ease and freedom?
If you don’t know yet, no worries … work with it.
Here’s what I’ve been using copiously to help me get to this point:
Awakened Expression | Joy Juice | Inner Knowing | all the Flowerevolution flowers in order to prepare for this new era.
Whatever it is –
You deserve to support yourself, to fall in love with yourself, your mission in life and most importantly right now:
A fun project or two that propel you into the wildest joy and freedom of expansion you’ve felt thus far in your life.
Let go of struggle, obligation, fatigue, overworking and burnout.
Allow yourself to embrace a life of more ease and juicy moments.
So what will it be?
I hope I’ve got you reflecting for days to come.
How can we support you in finding your way to your wildest dreams?
Remember: Your unfolding benefits us all!
Love & flower petals,
Katie
P.S. If you want to know all of our favorite spots we've discovered during our epic adventure in Wyoming, we put together a full list for you here.
P.P.S. We had a lot of time on the road, so we put together a Wyoming road trip playlist here.
