distorted images

i've been working so much on a water trail grant proposal that using a computer for other than composition and emails seemed rather tedious. how often the focus of "what's on your plate" is distorted and the things that really matter get lost in the waves. living each day has a certain sense of joy and deliberation, but having a vision of something better does tend to keep the flow intact. it takes a few well placed comments to shake off the lethargy. it does help to have clear mirrors close to remind us of our frailties and our possibilities.

recently i had the privilege of working with children at an Integrative Intentions intensive in plymouth, indiana at a golf resort. the inclusion of fine powder snow each day allowed for cross-country skiing each morning before work and a chance to "get the head right" before tackling some of the toughest challenges i've seen to date. there are so many individuals out there just getting by with parental love and faith. it is humbling to see how much progress can be made and still know that there is so far to go. i had the opportunity to work with conjoined twins, a near drowning victim with severe neurological loss, and autistic children, but labels can't describe how much meaning there still is in their lives. i can't comment on their conditions or care, but to just say that i have all the respect in the world for their parents/siblings/caregivers. To be a small part of making their lives more manageable is extremely gratifying.

my favorite singer/songwriter, todd rundgren, once wrote a song entitled, "parallel lines". it ran through my head as i got up each morning to face a new dawn and ski. looking at the tracks of the previous day, covered with a new dusting of snow, reminded me that even though there are moments and people we'll never get any closer to, we will always be close; we will always be on the same path Way. when i work with my patients i remind them that even though those they love are not close, they are still with us closely in spirit. i'll include the lyrics:

Kindred spirits moving along the spiral
I can see you up on another level
It's too great a fall
And I can't reach you to pull me higher
But I don't seem to get much closer or any more far

What would you tell me, if
I could hear you speaking?
If you could touch me, how would I know the feeling?
I just can't imagine
But I try to do it anyway
I wish I was moving faster,
I wish you'd drift back
But it just wasn't meant to happen
Very soon I'll have to

Face the fact
Some things never come together
Parallel lines running on forever
And you can't turn back
There is never any starting over
Parallel lines never do cross over

Its a challenge
Gotta make myself remember
Facing the truth, well, that doesn't mean surrender
What is bravado and how much is a force of will?
I know that the world is full of opposites that attract
But unless we ignore the physics
Very soon we'll have to

So I send you the gift of empathy
If you'd once in your life acknowledge me
I have visualized so thoroughly
That when I think of me
I think of we

Can't face the truth
It means that we must surrender
Understanding won't satisfy the hunger
It whittles away at the destiny we fulfill
And like an animal running wild
You can't call it back
And its just gonna make it harder
When it's finally time to

It's like a train that's stuck running on a track
Parallel lines running on, running on, running on

when it seems like you'll never reach a crossing point, when you'll never make contact, know that you always have someone close while traveling on your Way