Showing posts with label road trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label road trip. Show all posts

Thursday, April 2, 2026

A Wider Perspective on A Big Purge

I’ve been following this young woman and her husband for way over five years on Facebook. They are an extraordinarily talented couple with big plans and accomplishments that continue to unfold in their lives and directly impact the lives of their community.  Labeling them as adventurous souls feels inadequate. When I read Liza’s recent Facebook post on purging their homestead - in fact, her childhood home - I felt compelled to share her powerful words. She was happy to oblige!  Her words go deep and, like every word she writes [unedited], inspiration abounds and the hearts of her readers are touched with Truth. She has described The Big Purge so much better than I did in my last post by taking this subject to the next level.  - Tina Levy 

Liza

Posted on Facebook March 13, 2026 by Liza Piza Balstein


For the past few months, I’ve kept a mantra in my head like a skipping record: everything and everyone has its place. It’s a small sentence, but it has carried me through. It keeps me grounded when things feel chaotic, and it reminds me that even when I can’t see the full picture, there is still a larger ecosystem that I’m part of and can tap into at anytime.


That idea has helped me as we began the daunting task of emptying this house that’s held more than forty years of belongings from several different lives. The sheer volume of things was overwhelming. Every room contained layers of objects—some sentimental, some practical, many forgotten. Sorting through it all forced me to ask a constant question: where does this belong now?


The things is, I'm stubborn. And I have done just about everything I can do to avoid the landfill. Throwing everything away or packing it up to be stored in some unit somewhere else felt like the easiest solution, but it also felt wrong. If something is still useful, meaningful, or necessary and we can't bring it with us, I believed there was still a place for it somewhere.


In the process of redistributing these belongings, I ended up having more than a thousand exchanges with people. Some items were sold, but much of it was simply given away. What started as a logistical challenge gradually became something much more human. Each interaction was a small moment of connection with someone from a different walk of life. A chair, a tool, a set of dishes, or a compost bin became the starting point for conversations and shared stories.


Watching something that had been sitting unused in a house for years suddenly become valuable again in someone else’s life-- especially to those living on tight incomes, people struggling to make ends meet, or individuals who didn’t even speak English as their first language, it created a powerful sense that even in this small way, with intention things can move back into balance.


Over time, the experience started to feel like more than just clearing out a house. It became a lesson in how imbalance works. Often, things in the world are not broken because they need to be destroyed; they’re simply out of place. One person has too much while another goes without. Useful objects sit idle while someone else struggles to afford them. When that happens, the answer isn’t always to discard or erase—it may simply be to move things into better alignment.


Many of the problems we face, both personally and collectively, seem to grow out of imbalance. We often respond by trying to eliminate or obliterate what feels wrong. But sometimes the better response is to reposition—to help restore equilibrium rather than start from scratch.

In a small way, it was my part in helping restore balance to the world. It turned disposal into connection. It reminded me that objects carry usefulness beyond the moment we stop needing them, and that people are often far more willing to help one another than we assume.


Most of all, it reinforced the belief that everything and everyone has a place. Our responsibility is not necessarily to control the entire system, but to participate in it thoughtfully—to notice when something is out of alignment and, where we can, help guide it toward a better place.


The larger picture may always remain partly out of view. But even without seeing it fully, we can still take part in the quiet work of restoring balance around us.

Let me know! Sending you all lots and lots of love! ❤ ❤ ❤



Wishing you Well in All Ways Always,


Eliza Epstein

Holistic Health Specialist

WWW.Wholesomelyhealing.com


Eliza Bailstein is a writer, teacher and Holistic Health Specialist at Wholesomely Healing LLC specializing in Mental, Physical and Emotional Wellbeing. She and her husband are traveling nomads who travel with their van and teardrop-shaped teeny-tiny home. Together, they co-founded Rising Light and have organized hundreds of hands-on workshops related to holistic natural health practices, communication and conflict resolution skill-building, joyful self-expression, and environmental regeneration.


You can read her insightful, thought-provoking essays by subscribing to her Substack: https://substack.com/@elizabailstein


And learn about their non-profit at BeamingLove.org and her business at WholesomelyHealing.com



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Watch for next month's post from Tina about finding closure when it's time to "leave the building..."


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Sunday, February 8, 2026

Envisioning Life “Out West”

Returning from Arizona in 2016 - [See prequel Jan. 2026 blog post] - Nathan and I began to play with the fantasy of relocating to the Southwest.   Personally, I began to consider what such a move could mean for me. Would it be safe for me to leave everything and everyone behind -  at retirement age and after 30 years in a community - and move cross country?  Would my husband and I hold our tight bond regardless of any adversity we might face in a new setting? We had both failed in prior marriages so I might have been terrified at the prospect of becoming a “stranger in a stranger land” if this well intentioned adventure ruined our marriage. To my surprise and great relief, all of these thoughts were brief and fleeting. After 20 years with Nathan, my guts had "a knowing" that this marriage was indeed solid.  This wasn't the first time that my guts had delivered this message.  

Snow Canyon, Ivins, UT near St. George


Our decision to leave the nest was so easy that it had to have held a cosmic force behind it.   In 2017, we began planning for when to sell the house, what to purge, where to live, and the logistics for getting there. Getting where? Would we become nomads? Where would we visit? Were we looking for a permanent home? We studied maps. We dreamed of the life we wanted to live. We decided to wander without commitment and to head for St. George, Utah, for starters. We hoped to stay for a year and make side trips of a couple hundred miles out from there. When we were “done” there,  we planned to center ourselves in another spot and repeat the cycle until we decided to settle down.


How would we get there? We started shopping for a big comfortable car that would take everything we could pack into it for the long drive to move cross country. Everything else had to go.  We started planning for a huge purge of our possessions. Watch for next month's post about our year long effort to lessen our load!


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Thursday, December 25, 2025

The Story of Tina's Sedona

Many people seem to think that I live in Sedona instead of Tucson and are puzzled by the name I gave my small woman-owned business.   I thought readers might be interested in how the name Tina's Sedona came to be and clear up any confusion. Every December differing versions of the "Christmas Story" are told, to which not everyone subscribes. So, here is a refreshing true story not open to debate. 

In 2015, a friend and I traveled to Sedona for the first time. In preparation, I spent time researching the nature of "vortices" and where I might find one in Sedona where it is believed they run rampant. My efforts were needless, because within 24 hours of arriving, I began to feel either high or drunk, I couldn’t decide. Vortices do move around and apparently they found me. Everywhere I went I asked people if they could feel it. Their response? "Sounds like a vortex has got ya!" There is much debate on the subject of altitude's impact on emotions. With Sedona at 4300 feet above sea level and me -- back then -- from St. Petersburg, Florida at 48 feet above sea level, that may have been a factor. That said, I would argue that, for me, this experience felt much more spiritual than physiological.


Seeing captivating red rock formations up close and personal within Sedona proper was indeed mesmerizing. Their energy was palpable! At the local airport, my friend and I attended a daily event that rendered an absolutely spectacular sunset.  

Sedona sunset at the local airport
This is me at the airport. Do I look high or drunk? (I was neither, I swear.)

Was I inspired by the trip? Likely. But more than that, I was strongly influenced. The colors of the red-rock buttes, the vivid blue skies, and extreme sunset compilation heightened my innate love of color.  The whole experience seemed to create a sense of confidence, a “knowing”, and a steady stream of ideas with an urgency for my hands to produce artistic creations at a frenetic pace.  Suddenly, color, texture and nature became imperative for my pieces. Returning to Florida, my creative nature turned somersaults and began to produce creations that I had not before considered.

So instead of "business as usual" I got serious about my artwork knowing that my impression of Sedona and the energy I experienced there was always going to be with me, with no way to turn back. In every piece I produced, I would have no choice but to reflect my interpretation of Sedona. Hence the name Tina's Sedona! It came quickly and surely,  like an old friend, just waiting for me to discover it.   ➰➰➰




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Friday, November 21, 2025

December 25, 2019

I’m remembering our first Holiday Season in the Southwest. We were living in LaVerkin, Utah, less than 20 miles from Zion National Park.   We had moved out of Florida only six months earlier.

That December 25th we decided to drive through a mostly empty, very cold Zion National Park, getting excited by snowy peaks in the distance in contrast to the roadside stream beds still flowing despite the icy temperatures. As we approached the historic Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel a soft rain began to fall.  If you have ever driven through that tunnel, then you may know that the 1.1 mile drive is pitch dark except for several large hollowed out windows that provide fleeting views of the canyon.   It makes no sense (to me) that these large viewing windows exist because of the traffic that flows through the tunnel. There are no lookout points to pull off the road and park. Maybe these openings were used during the construction process back in the early 1900’s or they were a planned "peekaboo" moment for bypassers. As it happened, there was little to no road traffic on that holiday, much less in the tunnel. So, momentarily, and a bit daringly, we stopped the car and peered out. Imagine that! One of the busiest Parks in the U.S. and that window was in our sole possession for a few precious moments.

Photo Credit: Joe Braun Photography 

Having visited Zion at other times of the year, we knew that emerging from the other end of the tunnel would be something like an IMAX experience. A bit daunting but also exciting. From experience, we knew we must resist the urge to lock our eyes on the orange sandstone cliffs bursting into view and focus on the road that was no longer a straight line.


But on this visit we did not see what we expected.   
We emerged from the tunnel into a full blown blizzard!

We were so excited by the sudden snowfall that we parked the car and hopped out like a couple of gaping kids marvelling at some of the largest snowflakes either of us had ever seen.  Then… another surprise!  As we stood in all that snowy white wind we witnessed a small herd of desert bighorn sheep navigating the nearby mountainside, just across the road from us.   No traffic. No people. Just us, the swirling icy snowflakes, and those incredible sheep.  Lots of pics of that day…  including a brief video of the herd. Oh how we loved those rocks, those vistas, the snow, and those sure footed sheep.

We wish YOU a stupendous, pleasant surprise in December 2025…. regardless of how, what, or if you celebrate holidays, holy days, etc...


Tina & Nathan


Vacation 2017


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Friday, May 17, 2024

Summer Sabbatical

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the word “sabbatical” comes from the word “Sabbath,” which is a day of rest dedicated to God. Essentially, a sabbatical is several Sabbaths put together. It feels like the right way to describe my past few months. I don't move forward but I don't move backward either. Ever been there, when all activity seems to slow to a state of silence, almost a state of paralysis? It is an unfamiliar state for me, but I am actually enjoying the "letting go" of it all. No projects moving forward. Dabbling with ideas but not pursuing them. Rest. YES, please. That's not to say I haven't accomplished anything. Just not a whole lot that I would normally sense as productive.


Ah, but, while on sabbatical there is still news to report from my neck of the desert.

Update on Tohono Chul Submission

Poor little thing feels terribly rejected... lol
My sci-fi Sonoran Desert piece was not accepted for the new Tohono Chul Exhibit "Exotic Sublime | treading softly".
Honestly, I cannot tell you how relieved I was when I was notified. Smack dab in the middle of a planned vacation to relax was this project awaiting my attention upon my return. It wasn't ready and I wasn't either. That's not to say it would have been accepted even in a completed state. Then I would probably have been very disappointed to have finished it to no avail. But, alas, I was saved from stress I did not need. Will I ever finish it? Now that I am feeling very "sabbatical-ized" I am not quite sure...



Oh, But A Win!

I have managed to sell four out of five bracelets that I submitted to Tohono Chul’s annual 10 x 10 | A Fundraiser exhibition in progress through May 26th!









Utah & Arizona

How did I get into this silent place? Nine days, 1400 miles on the road and exposure to the most exquisite landscapes yet. Monument Valley, Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon to name just a few. I feel as if I was metaphysically hit by a wall of mountain in Bluff, Utah, where our second floor balcony faced a huge monolithic mountain range just feet from us, one that ran the length of the hotel and towered into an incredible sky. That kind of exposure makes it so easy to become silent, to pull back, to reassess motion and all activity. Do you think a vortex got hold of me?




My Current Pursuit

I am walking my way up to 3+ miles about 4 days a week. On vacation, Nathan and I discovered, as we had suspected, that our artistic pursuits have definitely slowed down our physical strength and hiking endurance. We are on a mission to rebuild and regain that. Optimism exists during sabbaticals...

Rest easy,
Tina


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Saturday, April 13, 2024

The Spring Desert Enfolds Me

We live in the Sonoran Desert which is blooming like crazy this time of year and early next week we will head back up to the Mojave Desert to see the flora bloom there. Who would guess that we would be desert dwellers in our golden years?

The Drama of Design

The question is always "who am I creating this for?" And inevitably the answer always results in "I am creating this for me." Otherwise, the tendency to run in circles trying to address every possible critique leads to frustration and adds to the production time. This is the dilemma I have been dealt with building a tabletop piece in preparation for submitting to another juried show. Unlike anything I've done before, this piece represents a science fiction interpretation of the Sonoran Desert. Unlike designing and creating a piece of jewelry, this table top project has required a series of components that need to contribute to the big picture of a very surreal desert which I am building. What an adventure it is! Having just submitted my paperwork for jurying of my piece, I should hear from Tohono Chul by April 16th on whether or not my piece has been selected for this Summer's exhibit of the "Exotic Sublime | treading softly".

NOTE - The beaded pieces contained in this depiction of a futuristic Sonoran Desert reflect my first attempt at designing my own creations in French Beading – excluding the Asiatic Lily designed by Lauren Harpster of Bead and Blossom. With her permission, I have included my creation of it in vivid colors of my choice. I have also redesigned its body to “nurture life” via an attached umbilical cord of sorts extending to an adult insect of my design. I have also altered the Lily’s stem work to include a “youngster” emerging from an additional pod which I added to the flower’s structure.  

Guess what? This piece is not finished and, if selected, must be delivered in early May! LOL I will cover the tabletop board with fabric and attach everything to that when I return from our trip to AZ/UT. For now, I am letting it go. It will be easier to let go when we leave town and get to our mountainous destinations. In case you're wondering, we are driving via Flagstaff to Monument Valley, the Arches, Moab, Bryce Canyon, Page (not far from Marble Canyon where we stayed last spring) and a few other majestic spots along the way. We will clock over 1300 miles on this nine-day journey.

This post is going to be a short one as we leave in three days. I am still deciding on whether or not to bring a new, very small, hand sized, "fun" project from my beading bucket list with no demands for completion. I am 90% sure I will leave home without one this time.

As you can guess, next Month's Blog will be about our trip. You will also get results of my Tohono Chul submission! Until then, enjoy this time of year and get outside.

Best to you all,
Tina


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