Modern Day Magic!

October 14, 2020

Modern Day Magic!

May 29, 2023

I wrote this poem in Aug 2019 a few months after our 31st MEA cohort, nicknamed Hearts of Gold, finished our magical week at Modern Elder Academy. Everything in this poem is true and actually occurred. If you haven't attended MEA, it will seem improbable.

However; the experience is a medley of playful activities, practical life skills, introspection, unguarded honesty and group vulnerability...a little like summer camp for curious and open grownups!

During that time we took an accounting of our areas of mastery and limiting beliefs, and we were challenged to question our present mindsets. It was a midlife rite of passage that each of us had been drawn to from our separate corners of the planet. The people who showed up were self-selecting a courageous unknown path. Imagine the energy that creates.

This group of seekers, combined with the activities and lessons of the MEA experience, created a catalyst of openness and joy. Throw in an exotic and luxurious Baja beach setting with stellar staff, and you have lift off! MEA left me with diverse friendships that continue to bring fresh eyes and ideas to my life, and it rekindled a rich playfulness in my soul. That's Modern Day Magic!

Riding Baja Waves

Luminous bright light
Flashes blissful memories
A shimmering movie reel
of golden times
in a magical place
near the tip of the earth
where ancient cactuses have names
and it seems normal
to be cleansed by a shaman

3 humble sages
and 18 expectant pilgrims
Gathered near the sea
at a mystical oasis
in the Mexican dessert
Where life’s ponderous burdens
Are unpacked and released
through Faith Love and Intention

I keep whispering Pescadero
A word rich in sound
And soil
And solace
And soul

A place where we are reminded
And reimagined
And reinvigorated
And rejoiced

A liminal land
Between the what was and what’s next
Where fanciful finches flit into lessons
And preposterous joy
Settles in the soul
Where the opulence of heaven
Graces every table
And a yogi surfer
Breathes fresh life
Into revitalized minds

I love saying Pescadero
It conjures unbridled exuberance
Commingled with radiant faces,
fresh baked bread
and organic avocados
Where strangers become guides
And everyone is a student
And a stick is our teacher

It all seems dreamlike now
Did we sing and dance?
Learn and laugh?
Did we burn limiting beliefs?
Did we lift that inner warrior?
Did we find our way back?

My overflowing

Heart of Gold

Tells me, “Yes we did!”


Karla N Diehl has led a non-linear life due to a sense of wonder and purpose intertwined with a high tolerance for risk. She has owned several businesses (both successful and not), took a gap year at 50 to join Peace Corps, and subsequently discovered her poetic muse. She presently co-owns a boutique mergers & acquisitions advisory firm in Nashville, Tennessee.

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