I spent last night at Ojo Caliente for my birthday. It’s a mineral springs resort north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. I checked my life at the desk and spent my special day in peace and quiet.
I spent a couple of hours in the mineral springs. My body said, “Are you kidding me? Why haven’t we ever done this before?” I forget sometimes how much inertia the body can carry around. It builds up like dust on a dresser and then one day you see it in the light and wipe it off.
My favorite spring was the soda pool. It was warm and bubbly and there was a roof that provided shade. I felt like I was in the womb. I figured since it was my birthday this was a good opportunity to get reborn. I went underwater and grabbed my knees. It was calming and timeless. I imagined it was time to be born and came out of the water. I took my first breath.
I’ve been learning new ways to take care of myself on my winter southwest adventure. I realized I’d gotten used to a lot of the old ways of making myself happy. I kept doing them because my memories prodded me and I didn't question if they were still working. The thing is many weren’t fresh anymore. My experience is it takes an inner curiosity to want to find the new things that fit. Plus it helps recognizing that I'm changing all the time, and this includes my needs.