Welcome to That Mystic Road
Fellow Travelers! Shall we begin our journey together?
That Mystic Road is dedicated to my sister, Cheryl Renee Long (1946–2023)
Image: Cheryl at the beginning and at the end…
On August 16, 2023, my beautiful sister Cheryl called and said, “Sandy, I’m dying.”
Her words pierced my heart because I knew instantly she was right. Letting her go is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I was only able to travel to see her one more time before she passed on November 24, 2023.
Video: The last time our sister Toren and I visited Cheryl, we made this final video together, November 2023.
However, we talked on the phone many times. She told me one of her regrets was that she held on to her identity as a showing and teaching artist until the end. She said she wished she had taken time earlier to become a better gardener, to join a choir sooner, to study birding more closely, to be less obsessed with art.
Cheryl urged me to reevaluate everything I was doing, making, and creating and to make sure I moved forward only doing exactly as the spirit moved me—and to work harder distinguishing what that was.
I discussed the idea of That Mystic Road with her, and she was pleased to think our family stories, which is one major thing I’ll be posting, would be on the internet to share with all.
It was Cheryl who pointed out that the Mystic Road of our mutual life included poetry, art, radio broadcasts, photography, photo safaris—all the ways beauty shines on that Road.
Our story, my story, is your story. The meaning in any art form is not just for me, the artist—it is for you and the many ways it can create a connection between us.
That Mystic Road is dedicated to my sister, Cheryl, with unfathomable gratitude for all she taught me. She was always running four years out in front of me, and I have always been running to catch up with her. I always thought the sun rose and set on her; and finally, it set forever. May That Mystic Road do honor to her belief in it and in me—and in you.
But wait! There’s more!
Image: The setting sun through the Keyhole in the North Twin, a rare annual moment when the sun aligns to illuminate That Mystic Road we tread. Rockaway Beach, October 2023.
How That Mystic Road Got its Name
One more story before I turn you loose: in October 2023, I joined a reunion of friends from my intentional community days. We share a bond forged in the fire of shared spiritual intent and hammered out on the forge of everyday living together. I believe we all feel we have been on a powerful and mysterious journey together over many decades.
As our days on the Oregon Coast drew to a close, singer/ songwriter Michael Baim wrote a song called “Ease Among Friends” that I used as the sound track for an event video.
Video: “Ease Among Friends,” song by Michael Baim, digital story by Sandy Brown Jensen, October 2023.
The lines that grabbed my heart and wouldn’t let go are:
We may never walk this way again,
And who would be so brave again
To travel down that mystic road we tread?
—Michael Baim, singer/songwriterThis publication, “That Mystic Road,” encapsulates what I feel about my long and mysteriously blessed life.
And here you and I are, traveling That Mystic Road together. I only wish Cheryl were traveling with us; perhaps she is—on the other side of the veil.
Image: Last photo of the three sisters together: Toren Brolutti, Cheryl Long, Sandy Brown Jensen
Housekeeping:
Cheryl gifted me with her mailing list before she passed, thinking many of you might be interested in That Mystic Road. However, I’m aware that many of you came from other tributaries to her river, so you will find Substack automatically includes an unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email sent to you. Want to do it right now?
Cheryl’s gift stops here. I would never further share your email address. If you unsubscribe, I will purge your name from my list to make sure it’s gone. And once it’s gone, it’s gone. I’m not going to save it for any reason. And just to be clear, the mailing list is separate from the emails of friends in my personal Contacts. You don’t have to subscribe for us to remain friends!
About money: Substack makes it easy for me to turn the donation button on, and of course thank you if you can contribute, but it is not expected. I do have a separate monetized art selling website at sandybrownjensen.com, and I will be linking art for sale to that site, but again, That Mystic Journey is not about money for me. It a platform for sharing my stories and art.
Image: Where was she going and why so fast?
Sandy Brown Jensen via MidJourney
Cheryl is still leading the way for us.