serendipity

to come full circle, once again, the uncarved block (Pu), is about the potential that exists for each of us. to see ourselves in the calm reflection of the water and achieve the contemplation that explains our existence is the pursuit........ all done while sitting still......... to find that stillpoint is the challenge.

i have no more wisdom left, or interpretations of life, or expectations........ i am approaching empty.......... where i once started...... such is life.

lifelines

when paddling, returning to the dock/put-in reminds me of where i started, but also where i've been. getting up each morning at Prairie Creek Reservoir close to Oakwood Retreat Center has become a lifeline for developing energy needed to work all day. to help people work on issues that shape their life takes a lot of energy to stay neutral and let them sort out what they need to do to change the course of their lives. it is like the point of a picture where the real object becomes the reflection. as we meld with people, in CranioSacral Therapy, we have a chance to see some of what has become the imbalance in life. as i've said before, "a lack of balance is a lack of ease, and a lack of ease is simply called, dis-ease". to restore health we only have to find that balance point and learn to stay close enough to get back there easily.

when i was young (no, not 50) we played a game called "kick the can". in playing, the person who was "it" stood by the can and could only move away far enough to get back before someone ran in and kicked it. if you caught them before they kicked the can they were "captured". you had to be fast to get back after you tempted them to run in. if they were successful in kicking the can they were "free". if we only can stay within range of the "can" and stay healthy enough to "get back quickly" we can experience life to the fullest knowing that we need not fear the imbalance.

you don't have to always do everything by yourself in achieving that balance point. drawing from the energies of friends can be helpful, as many of the clients at Oakwood would agree. we are not alone in this endeavor we call life, and learning to trust others can be the most freeing experience we will ever learn. i have been privileged to work with individuals that were able to trust others and risk everything emotionally. i have found that the quote paraphrased from T.S. Eliot, "at the stillpoint of the turning world, there is only the dance", is applicable to our lives. we should find joy in every movement, and every opportunity. i am truly blessed to have met so many wonderful people in my work.

last week i got the news that a beautiful young girl i've worked with before, Miss Taylor, got her trach tube removed and is starting to regain her speech. her laughter is a gift from a higher power and a reminder that anything is possible if you have faith. congratulations go out to both her and her family and friends. i look forward to the day we get to dance together!

remember to use your lifelines, and to look for that stillpoint in your Path that signals the opportunity to dance.

topsy-turvy

since returning from california/washington, just keeping up with events has been hectic. i'm leaving tomorrow for indiana and another Integrative Intentions comprehensive program. the only words i can come up with are "topsy-turvy". just as in my grandson Jordan's diving you have to keep your feet together and enter the water smoothly, and straight without splashing; so it is in life - concentration on task, alignment, and entry/exit without making a wave. i guess i'll have to rededicate myself to getting more done in the future. i'm always distracted by just enjoying each day and lose sight of the next checkpoint.

this is a lead in to the good news that my paddling partner, JC, has reached the second checkpoint in the Water Tribe Challenge in florida. he made it to the everglades with a solid time and is on now to flamingo the last checkpoint before the run to key largo and the finish line. i wish i had a picture of his race but expect that DL, who is tagging along, will have some good ones when they get back. it is truly inspirational to have close friends who step up to challenges and inspire everyone around them to do better each day. i actually am thinking that it might be possible next year...... i'm not only old but getting a bit crazier i think... as a good friend reminded me, "we're still crazy after all these years". life should hold unpredictable opportunities of greatness i believe.

a recent client we worked with in california wrote to say he had come through surgery successfully and with the results he visualized during treatment. his letter was wonderful and reinforces my feeling that what we accomplish does make a difference in facilitating meaningful change. it is also amazing to see the skills of so many talented therapists and the impact they can have in bringing about improved health. we are all putting in pieces of a giant puzzle without borders, and for short moments we are privileged to see a bit of the picture others see, before moving on to other parts of the puzzle.

look for the colorful pieces that match and keep building on your picture - and let others see some of what you have accomplished... (keep paddling stripbuilder!)

melding

it has been a whirlwind past two weeks with a trip to Ben Lomond, CA for an Integrative Intentions comprehensive (say that three times), and then on to my daughter's in Kirkland, WA. i paddled the first day in Santa Cruz from the wharf. the outfitter met me there and after learning that i wasn't completely new to kayaking gave me a composite 16' boat and gear and sent me off to the kelp beds to play with the sea otters and lions. the 10' swells were gentle and watching the surfers jumping off the cliffs into the 15' breakers was enjoyable. working at Sequoia Retreat Center in Ben Lomond was exciting. we spent the days with clients, in the lodge overlooking the valley through the 100' tall trees, and reveled in the overwhelming quiet and peacefulness. i managed to get up each morning and hike the trails and just absorb the energy that was there. at times i felt like i was part of the forest and not just an observer.

in therapy we say that blending energies with clients can be called "melding" and at times it is difficult to determine where you leave off and they begin, and vice versa. in life we often come to that boundary where we lose touch with "me" and find the "we" that is so important for understanding problems.

just this week i had the opportunity to take someone back to a time in her life, when everything was right, when everything was warm and wonderful. it had been so long, and the emotional disconnect so strong, that she was unable to see herself as happy and healthy today. finding the point of trauma, emotionally, she found a solution to the problem and came back to the present without the negative impact. just as in a book where the hero dies in the first chapter, the hero of her life had left early. she had come forward without the positive experience she needed to be in control. once she determined what needed to occur to resolve the emotion she felt a rush of energy and peacefulness previously not held. she walked away with the knowledge that life could be the way she scripted it and not the way she had been headed. i am amazed constantly how talented people are at solving conflicts in their lives. in melding with them during treatment it is possible to experience a bit of that emotion and come to understand what they have gone through.

after Ben Lomond i traveled on to the "city by the bay", San Francisco, and then on to Seattle. Calliope lives a mile from beautiful Lake Washington, that separates Kirkland from the city. getting up each morning to walk around town let me have time to commune with the ducks and enjoy the calm water and meditative time. the lake would be another prime area to paddle and i look forward to another time when there is more opportunity to explore. the time with my daughter was short but being able to celebrate her birthday early was good. we even took a day to travel to the wine country for a tasting and new experiences; melding in our own ways.....

if we only take time to understand the synchronicity of our energetic waves we can be like the lake on a calm day and meld with the pathway found inside each and everyone of us.