On the shoreline.

October 2018

I had a moment before we left for the day and I stood there on the shore listening to the elements. The wind blowing, the waves crashing, the birds swiftly flying around as the dark clouds rolled through and falling leaves danced down to the water. I took a deep breath in soaking up the scent of the lake, damp and fishy. I won’t be back to this sacred place until spring arrives. I brush a cedar tree with my arm suddenly enveloped in the thick evergreen scent.

I close my eyes for a brief moment and feel the fragility of life and all its beauty. Then I hear a faint voice, familiar but not my own. I hear “this is the safest place you will ever know.”

I take another breath and open my eyes as I feel the overwhelming sensation of gratitude come over me. I quickly think of all my journeys in this life and in past lives. How traumatic and intense they have been. And now, here I am in this place. Never before have I asked myself to be as present as I am now. In complete and full awareness of how deeply I have worked in the shadow and how far I have come into the light. Allowing this awareness and all its sensations to soak so deeply into my being that my ancestors feel this too.