High dive.
Should I jump?
The water is so far away from here.
What if it hurts when I land?
Falling for so long… I just don’t know if it's worth it.

A push from behind does the trick.
I find myself in open air.
Free fall.
Gravity holds the reins.
Resistance is futile.
The only way is down.
Best to relax. And enjoy the ride.
Here comes the water.
The playful waves calling.

Photo by Michael Oxendine on Unsplash

February flown.
Only small bits remain.
Why measure our life in units of time?

I am a young woman with brand new ideas.
So much to do, so much to say.
A world filled with possibilities awaits.

Appearances deceive.  A wise person ignores them.
So much hidden. Look around corners for truth.

Unchained from the tyranny of past, step into a new day.
A day you have never seen before.
Forget what you think you know.

Photo by Alex Kramar on Unsplash

Is it so hard to give credit where credit is due?  Does it lessen your contribution to acknowledge the work that came first?

We stand on generations of innovators and improvisors who discovered clever ways forward. 

Farmers who carefully bred the food we eat over generations.  Improving the taste or hardiness of each crop. Caring for the soil.

Sitting at my computer, writing for you, is a marvel, a wonder.  That my words will be sent out over the ether to be received by you nearly instantaneously could not have been imagined fifty years ago.

Generosity is tied to acknowledging all those behind-the-scenes contributors who help your work or your life expand. Through interacting with them, you can see things you never noticed before.  And together we can make things better.

Much gratitude for all of you for helping me hone my voice.

Photo by Simon Fanger on Unsplash

I have chosen a single word for what I want to create in 2021, uncomfortable.  Since I spent most of last year uncomfortable, it seemed easy to achieve. But is it worth having?  If I seek out the comfortable, I don't push the edges. I don't grow as much as I would have. I play it safe.

I'm a risk-taker by nature and yet this pandemic was a soul-crusher. Why more?

What if I could find quiet in the storm? Find comfort in being uncomfortable.  Embrace the changes rather than fighting them?  Try to surf on the top of powerful waves instead swimming against them?  I could leverage this moment rather than trying to get back to what was.  And I could grow beyond what I have been if I am willing to go the edge.  Seeking out discomfort.  Making friends with it.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Getting outside to walk.  The magic of outdoors. Of sun on your face. Using your body for the purpose for which it was designed feels amazing. We were never meant to sit for long stretches. Sitting too much, standing too much, and running too much are all considered harms in Chinese Taoist healing.  Balance in all things.  Get out and walk.  Start with putting on your coat and heading for the door.

Bidden by the cawing of a Harris Hawk last evening, I turned to look behind me. Between the cactus and mesquite, I spied a bobcat walking.  Ah, the hidden treasures you can find outside if you are quiet and read the signs.

Photo by James Lee on Unsplash

Inspired by great artists, persistent creators, an idea sparks.
I like how that looks. I bet I could do that. I wonder how it would look if I did it this way.

Standing on the backs of the giants who have gone before, you can make your mark. 
Add your brick, your token. Art is creation.
What starts as a spark can be fed by continued exposure to great work and practicing your craft day after day.
It helps to have others who help shelter the small creative flame from ever-present winds.

Photo by Krystle van der Salm on Unsplash

Day recedes into night
A whisper or echo
Now muffled by woolen brocades

Night-wandering, my spirit soars
It leaps, plunges, stalks before laying beside my still form
Rest at last in dark places
Sheltered from intrusions of city lights and sounds
Stillness enters my being and fills it with calm

Dark skies are a gift, a treasure.  Consider working to reduce light pollution in your neighborhood. The dark is deeply restful. Find out more at International Dark-Sky Association.

Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash

Photo by Hunter Gascon on Unsplash

Long months of cold prepare us for the heat to come.
A dance of warm and cold, ebb and flow.
The eternal rhythm of life.

It's hard to imagine the first buds of spring
While surrounded by snow and ice.
But soon we will wish for cool weather amidst summer's heat.

Each prepares the way for the next
In an unending tapestry.

Life, dormant in the cold, will burst forth again.
Not gone. Just sleeping.  Storing its energy. 
Made strong by the cold while embraced by the Mother.

What is your story about money?

Is it good or evil or neither?

A story of abundance or scarcity?

My story resonates with those of St. Francis of Assisi and Siddhartha Buddha.  Both born as princes, they turned their backs on a life of comfort, gave away their possessions and ministered to the poor and suffering.  My favorite film as a college freshman was Brother Sun, Sister Moon by Franco Zefrelli.

Good friends in my Akimbo community have asked me to look at my story about money to help me see where I am stuck.  You might be stuck too.  Can you look?  What do you see?

Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

Photo by Leon Contreras on Unsplash

Bodywork seeks and frees places where the natural flow of energy in the body is stuck.

Similarly our thinking energy can get stuck, our creativity impeded, by old stories.

The past has a weight to it, in the brain and in the body.  Both places store experiences. 

But just because it happened doesn't mean it defines or confines you.  It's time to grow beyond our perceived limitations.  Time to rewrite the narrative.  Flush out the stuck places by gazing directly into them rather than running away from them.  Do the difficult work of untangling things. Can you become curious about why your body hurts or why you keep living the same story again and again?  What can you do on your own to lean into clearing it?  Who can help you?

Sharing is a generous act.  Please consider sharing with someone who could benefit.