LIKE WATER

Standing on the edge of the river, watching the majestic falls cascade over the rugged rocks and into the dark pool below them, I felt myself become completely absorbed into the scene.  The edges of me dissipated and I became just another member of the flora and fauna.  The steady current of the water transported me.  Around me, the birds sang and when the wind rustled through the tall evergreens to my left creating a beautiful melody, I smiled and lifted my arms high into the sky, inviting it to play me along with the other sacred instruments participating in its musical composition.  I let my body flow from side to side, the sun streaming onto my face, wind rustling the leaves at my feet and still the water, providing the rhythm section of this cacophony.

As the wind settled slightly, I came back into my body and my attention focused more intently on the pool of water directly beneath the falls.  My breath was steady and I felt in unison with everything around me as if the entire scene and everything in it was sharing the same breath.  I felt such resonance with the water.  I had always heard our bodies were made up of nearly 75%water, but until now, I hadn’t FELT it.

I recognized myself in it.  Observing it, my heart gushed for the patterns of movement, of being, that we shared:

Like water, I REACH

My effort is consistent.

The elements that move me come and go, but my reach, my desire to create, is steadfast.

I show up.  Every day.  My patterns are rhythmic, more rituals than habits, yet I have the ability to adjust.

I am flexible, malleable, fluid, but maintain healthy boundaries.

Like water, I NOURISH

I contribute my energy to the people, places and things around me.

I invest with the wholeness of my being where I am invited and honored.

I cleanse and self-cleanse so that I may carry the nutrients of pure thoughts, words, and actions that inspire others.

Like water, I SOMETIMES RAGE

I allow impurities to rise from the depths and move through me.

I purge that which no longer serves me. Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual.

I examine the lessons being brought forth one by one, and sometimes simultaneously.

Through acknowledging, integrating their wisdom, and finding gratitude for the lesson, I evolve.

It’s not always graceful, and sometimes things may be damaged or destroyed in the process.

And then I rebuild.

Like water, I TRAVERSE

While the path may be varied, I make my way.

The depths, the shallows, the rough terrain, the easy flow.

I explore because I know I can always come home.

And then I become at home anywhere.

Outside influences may inform my presence and way of being, but regardless, I am at home within myself.

Like water, I ADAPT

I take the information presented to me and make my subsequent choices accordingly.

Fully acknowledging that they are, in fact, choices.

I allow others to be who they are.

I move consistently toward alignment with my highest outcomes.

I choose to responsively become instead of reactively resist.

Self reflection can sometimes be scary.  Our worst critics come out when we are alone in the process.  The nagging feeling or voice that leans more toward doubt and fear than anything else becomes louder when there is only other noise to bounce it off of.  Yet, finding that reflection through a body of water that so seemingly understands is somehow more acceptable, softer, as though I have a companion in the process.  Acknowledging the beauty of where I am in the moment.  That I don’t have a choice to be anything else or anywhere else other than who I am and where I am, right here, right now.

For many years, I had to actively create moments like this as reminders, as a process, as a tool in order to be present or actively “evolve.”  Now, I simply notice them when they arrive.  Instead of racking them up as though I’m keeping score with myself, I dive deeply into them with my full presence and enjoy their richness.  There is so much more to each one of those moments.  When taking that pause, I ask myself questions using my five physical senses first.  What is it I see?  Hear, taste, smell and touch?  Does my body feel at east or tense?  Does my heart feel open?  And when I relax fully into the presence of that moment, I ask for the gift waiting to be revealed.  Sometimes it is an insight, sometimes an idea.  Often it is clarity on something I’ve been working through. Most often, it's acceptance and understanding.

As I backed away from the pool of water and the bounty cascading into it, I smiled, said my thanks, and waved as though I had just had a great coffee and catch up with an old friend.  I felt renewed.  My heart was full and my head was clear.  The cacophony continued around me, but no longer consumed me.  I had returned to wholeness, with all aspects of me collected, connected, and flowing.  My energetic boundaries were once again clear and I made my way back down the path through the rocky canyon to rejoin the “work in progress” of my day.  The gift I had given myself was about to become a gift to others as well as I resumed the normal daily interactions.  No matter how scary, the gift of being seen through the experience of another powerful force brings a personal fortitude to be relished and shared over time.

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