Aligning With Grace in the Water
I come into the river because I am cleared for all activities, having made a recovery nothing short of remarkable, barely a full month after surgery...
I come into the river because I can and because I want to...The river calls me...
I come into the river to align more deeply with grace...
I don my "Aligning with Grace" cap, and haul Grace, my trusty kayak, that has seen me through depression and tremendous growth these last few years - navigating me through the rough waters of isolation and connection - steering me through waves of grief and death and subsequent rebirth - and together we launch into this river that has been a silent witness to it all...
I come into this river much sooner than I ever could have imagined, with an incredible lightness of being and soul, and float in the stillness for a while. I drink in the silence, interrupted occasionally by a bass flapping as it happily jumps out of the water, and a blue heron flying over me, once more bidding me to paddle downstream...
I come into the river and give thanks for so many things - for a wonderful doctor and all who took care of me - and for the incredible healers and bodyworkers who worked with me these last few years, preparing me for this moment...
I send a blessing to someone who emailed me anonymously yesterday, and feels that my own spiritual journey is misguided. I share the experience with a friend, telling her, that I chose to respond with compassion...
I send blessings to all those I have wronged, and those who have wronged me as well...
I drink in the stillness, and delight in the gift of embodiment, mindful of a teacher who has striven to make me see and experience this gift. I recall words read yesterday, as I waited for my doctor to give me a clean bill of health and clear me to resume a more active lifestyle. She not only does this, but tells me, I do not need to return for another year...
"What does it mean to be embodied? Doesn't it mean to be given form? We have been gifted with a particular body. It is who we are in part - but not the whole story...
Our bodies can help us and can be avenues of prayer, for God is there in us closer than our hands or our feet. Having bodies we are invited to be incarnated spirit. We can come to learn to be conscious of our bodies as holy, as homes for spirit. That awareness can change how we live.
Our bodies are always with us, faithful companions to the end. They tell our stories - how we treasure or do not treasure the gift of them. Through our bodies we can participate in God's world or trash and disregard it.
To be full alive, fully embodied is a living prayer."
(Gunilla Norris, Simple Ways: Toward the Sacred)
I come into the river and to a new experience of embodiment - something that was removed within - created more space and lightness - and has ushered in a new era of living for me. I have been given a new lease on life...
I come out of the water, refreshed and joyous that I had the river all to myself. I went into the river to commune with it, and the Divine, and to baptize myself anew. Who knows what the future may bring? I do not know, but I am open to all it shall bring, as I once more utter the simple prayer of surrender I offer every day: "Oh Lord, I lay all at your feet. Let it be done through me according to Your Will."
And I enjoy the rest of the afternoon, whittling away hours at Starbucks with a dear friend and student - both of us stepping into new lives...
I go into the river because I can - but I do it mostly, to give thanks, to drink in its peace and wisdom, and to align with grace.
I come into the river because I can and because I want to...The river calls me...
I come into the river to align more deeply with grace...
I don my "Aligning with Grace" cap, and haul Grace, my trusty kayak, that has seen me through depression and tremendous growth these last few years - navigating me through the rough waters of isolation and connection - steering me through waves of grief and death and subsequent rebirth - and together we launch into this river that has been a silent witness to it all...
I come into this river much sooner than I ever could have imagined, with an incredible lightness of being and soul, and float in the stillness for a while. I drink in the silence, interrupted occasionally by a bass flapping as it happily jumps out of the water, and a blue heron flying over me, once more bidding me to paddle downstream...
I come into the river and give thanks for so many things - for a wonderful doctor and all who took care of me - and for the incredible healers and bodyworkers who worked with me these last few years, preparing me for this moment...
I send a blessing to someone who emailed me anonymously yesterday, and feels that my own spiritual journey is misguided. I share the experience with a friend, telling her, that I chose to respond with compassion...
I send blessings to all those I have wronged, and those who have wronged me as well...
I drink in the stillness, and delight in the gift of embodiment, mindful of a teacher who has striven to make me see and experience this gift. I recall words read yesterday, as I waited for my doctor to give me a clean bill of health and clear me to resume a more active lifestyle. She not only does this, but tells me, I do not need to return for another year...
"What does it mean to be embodied? Doesn't it mean to be given form? We have been gifted with a particular body. It is who we are in part - but not the whole story...
Our bodies can help us and can be avenues of prayer, for God is there in us closer than our hands or our feet. Having bodies we are invited to be incarnated spirit. We can come to learn to be conscious of our bodies as holy, as homes for spirit. That awareness can change how we live.
Our bodies are always with us, faithful companions to the end. They tell our stories - how we treasure or do not treasure the gift of them. Through our bodies we can participate in God's world or trash and disregard it.
To be full alive, fully embodied is a living prayer."
(Gunilla Norris, Simple Ways: Toward the Sacred)
I come into the river and to a new experience of embodiment - something that was removed within - created more space and lightness - and has ushered in a new era of living for me. I have been given a new lease on life...
I come out of the water, refreshed and joyous that I had the river all to myself. I went into the river to commune with it, and the Divine, and to baptize myself anew. Who knows what the future may bring? I do not know, but I am open to all it shall bring, as I once more utter the simple prayer of surrender I offer every day: "Oh Lord, I lay all at your feet. Let it be done through me according to Your Will."
And I enjoy the rest of the afternoon, whittling away hours at Starbucks with a dear friend and student - both of us stepping into new lives...
I go into the river because I can - but I do it mostly, to give thanks, to drink in its peace and wisdom, and to align with grace.
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