musings of a modern gypsy.

 

this afternoon B and i decided to make the most of the pleasant weather and go for a walk a few blocks away from my parent's house. as we were strolling we passed a vacant paddock where a brightly painted caravan standing on its lonesome caught our attention. i had never seen such a unique caravan before and was immediately intrigued. i wondered if anyone was living in the vehicle or if it had been abandoned, however within seconds i came to the conclusion that it looked too pretty for anyone to discard and the odds and ends laying around haphazardly within a two metre radius of the van (a pair of shoes, a bucket and a chair) made it look occupied. i really wanted to take some photos but thought it would be rude to do so without permission first and i didn't want to get caught sneakily taking snaps, especially if someone called it 'home'. feeling daring i told B i was going to knock on the door and ask if i could take some photos- afterall the worst they could do was say no. he reluctantly followed (clearly not as enthralled by the spectacle as i ha). a minute or so after knocking an older looking woman wound down a window and greeted us. i apologised for bothering her and explained how beautiful i thought her caravan was. she informed me that she had hand painted it herself over a twelve year period and had travelled all over the world in it, re-locating every few months. after a few minutes of small talk she opened the door and invited us in to see her humble abode. upon entering, i was completely in awe of the magical gypsy chamber we had stepped inside. from wall to wall, floor to roof the van was overflowing with random artefacts and trinkets from various countries, dreamcatchers, windchimes, tapestries and mystical artworks etc. the floor had been painted in florals similar to the exterior and fake leaves had been glued in an intricate pattern across the ceiling and down one of the walls to appear like an ivy vine was growing indoors. i couldn't stop staring at everything, it was utterly mesmerizing! the woman introduced herself as W- a seventy four year old nomad, and although quite eccentric and a bit scattered she was nice enough and very interesting. she offered us both a cigarette and we sat down whilst she showed us photos and told us stories about her travels and life experiences. she had a tendency to go off on different tangents so it was a bit difficult to follow some of the conversation but nonetheless we ended up staying for three hours, or rather she talked non-stop for three hours and we didn't have the heart to interrupt her because she seemed to enjoy the company. among musings about spirituality, astrology, numerology, art and literature, she spoke about the importance of living in the moment rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future- funnily enough this sentiment echoed that of both my psychologist and psychiatrist, and really any mental health professional i've encountered that works from a mindfulness based framework.

 

by the time we departed i hadn't managed to take that many photos but you can kind of get a rough idea from the above images. not quite your average saturday afternoon but an inspiring one  nonetheless. i think i've fallen in love with the idea of being a free-spirited, modern day gypsy- at seventy four W was as vibrant as ever and full of life- her parting comment before we headed home "have fun kids...don't do anything i wouldn't do!"