Floating....

 What we do know is that, as the chemical window closed, another awakening took place; that the human spirit is more powerful than any drug - and THAT is what needs to be nourished: with work, play, friendship, family. THESE are the things that matter. This is what we'd forgotten - the simplest things. 

last line from the movie awakenings


Off color daughter and I went out hiking this past Saturday.  It was a beautiful day---a perfect hiking day---the sun was shining and the breeze felt cool at just the right times on my face. 
There is something about the rhythm of walking
starting on a path and following it from start to finish
and sometimes taking a moment to sit by a stream or head off the beaten path to explore nooks and crevices untouched and often unnoticed by the hiker in front of me.  The beat of my feet on the ground and the smell of dust rising as I move forward
clears my head
opens me up
in 
some way or fashion
allows some sort of healing to occur inside of me.
This particular day, off color daughter hiked ahead of me.  She even ran the trail at times and every so often I run to catch up to her or else she'd wait for me and, I'd hear her
 yell, "hooty"....and wait for my response "who". 
If i didn't answer her--she'd either call me on my cell phone which I could not answer because it was in my pack or she'd walk back down the path and wait for me.
We ran some of the trail on Saturday--her more than me---cause I'm getting old and decrepit and the trail pounds so much more than running on the treadmill---all this big girl poundage took a toll on my knees and hips.  I am a bit sore today and it is three days later.
So while she hurried ahead of me,
I finally slowed down and enjoyed the view.
I'd occasionally take out my camera to take another of what my family calls "weird pictures".   
We had strayed off the beaten path to an infrequently traveled path that takes one through a long meadow filled with wild flowers and butterflies.   It is calm and serene and has a very different landscape than the other hilly dirt path that winds through the woods.
The sun beat on our face and the wind whipped as we travel up the hill to its top.  Off color daughter left me here and I traveled at my own pace and she at hers. 
  As I was walking over a little wooden bridge, it caught my eye.....
tiny little floating white fluff,
drifting in front of me,
traveling with the breeze.
It landed right in front of the leaves on the plank just long enough for me to snap a photo and then the wind blew ever so slightly and this tiny feathery speck of something
floated along,
drifted along and
i watched as it disappeared into the brush.
I wondered
"do I hear a who?"
"could I be a faithful elephant like Horton?"
and
I smiled but all the while 
the wheels inside began to turn
and
then i thought about life
and
patterns in our life and
people and 
things and 
....
I wondered...
how often
we people
we tiny human specks on planet earth
drift along in much the same way
going to whatever place the wind blows,
going places 
undetermined 
never knowing the destination
just going.
unplanned journey
predetermined past
or 
coincidental happenstance
I never know
from one day to the next.

....
it is true
some days
we all do it...
just float
let life take us
to where ever and what ever 
....
some days
we give into it
allow some sort of
GRACE-Like Mystery
to rise up underneath us
and carry us
into the future
some days
we overcome our fear
and
relax
just long enough to enjoy the ride
before
someone or something 
busts our little 
Mysterious bubble...

some days 
IT
takes us
to mysteriously wonderful places
and we see 
miraculous sights like trees and rainbows and sunlight
 and we hear wonderful sounds
like birds singing or music playing or leaves rustling

sometimes
we fall into cracks
feel crushed
get a bristle or two snapped off
and
even when we think the ride is over
something happens
in the darkness
in the light
in the hidden crevices of life
this thing
comes
lifting me and us and you 
from 
here
and
takes us to there
and
HOPE
floats us
in the midst of the ride
and love
surrounds and enfolds and holds us
.....

Life
floating
drifting
.....
Life
it is
and
we are
...
and
it happens
....
so 
lean into it
enjoy the moment
and allow 
grace and love and mercy
lift 
you
tiny speck
on planet earth
and take you to unknown heights
to places you never thought you would go...

Go on....
Float!

Happy Tuesday!
Hugs and Blessings...
The radical rambler