My intention for this newsletter, if anything, is just to present the musings of a wandering woman in a way that will inspire you. Or, in the case of this newsletter, a hunter of the elusive. The elusive has no choice but to present itself when we're enjoying the process.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, insights and understandings. deb@portagecoach.com

And if you find value in Portage please pass it along and ask your friends to subscribe. Thank You.
 

Hunting For The Elusive

May is the beginning of the annual spring hunt for the tasty yet elusive morel mushroom. And when I find it I'm rewarded first by the thrill of the find. Then, when I get home, I'm rewarded again when I relish one of the first tastes of spring. 

Morels are mischievous. I can spot one 30 feet away, keeping my eye on it the entire time I'm moving towards it. And then, about the time I'm bending over to pick it, it disappears. I circle around the spot where I last saw it three or four times and then I walk away. When I turn back, there it is again. Once I sat down on a log to eat lunch. I swear I never moved from that log. I just sat, eating and enjoying the woods, and I must have been there at least 20 minutes. When I stood up to continue my hunt, there was one of those morel mushroom devils right between my feet.

It's wonderful to collect a bag full of morels. It's fun to count them and compare this year's harvest with last year's. But coming home with a large quantity of morels is just the product. It's really the process I enjoy so much. We think of our life as our accomplishments or products. But life is a process, not a product. 

Chasing something elusive inside us is not all that different than hunting the morel. Sometimes we feel torn, out of sorts or puzzled and we seek the source of our confusion. We must go on the hunt and enjoy the process. 

One of my favorite methods comes from Julia Cameron's book, The Right to Write. Cameron says to sit down with paper and pencil. Focus on what you find elusive. Ask and write down your question. Then before you analyze the question, just write the answer that comes to you. Don't sift through the answer. Just write. This answer will likely lead you to another question. Write that question and then let the answer that follows flow from you to the paper. Continue the process for about 30 minutes or until you feel done. 

This is often enough to get to the delectable morsel you're seeking. Turn your back on the product, the outcome, and pay attention to enjoying the process, the hunt, and the elusive will present itself. It always does. Oh, and don't forget to reward yourself!

"Ideas are elusive, slippery things. Best to keep a pad of paper and a pencil at your bedside, so you can stab them during the night before they get away." ~Earl Nightingale

"The important thing is not to stop questioning." ~Albert Einstein
 

Books On My Shelf

The Right To Write: An Invitation and Initiation into the Writing Life by Julia Cameron.  In this book, Cameron shows us how to break down all the walls we may have built up around the act of writing and simply enjoy the process.

Law of Attraction, by Michael Losier. A simple guide to the law of attraction and how to eliminate doubt.
 

A Resource for You

Extraordinary Jobs for Ordinary People is a free weekly online newsletter for people who are tired of doing what the system dictates. Our message is aimed at the tear-aways who yearn for a life of adventure. We publish articles about the adventure travel industry and how to get work within it.
 

A Note About My Recommendations
I provide links in this newsletter to products and services I am offering or I have personally found valuable. With some of them, I have an affiliate agreement. If you are ever disappointed with one of these recommendations, please let them and me know. If they don't make it right, I will.
 

Peace and much love
Deb
 

Portage is published 12 times a year and distributed monthly by e-mail. Comments, submissions and suggestions are welcome. Please feel free to forward any or all of this newsletter to those you know will appreciate it and encourage them to subscribe for themselves.

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