It would be impossible to wrap words around what the experience of ALIA has been for me so far. It’s just too big to fit on a blog. Some day I hope that I can share some of the powerful moments that have shaken me up, broken me open, and sent me spiraling into a big and powerful life… but not yet. A lot of processing will have to be done.
For now, though, let me offer you a little metaphor that paints the picture of what I am experiencing here.
Yesterday morning, on the first morning here, I was dressing for breakfast. I dug my favourite silver necklace out of the simple ziploc bag that holds my jewellery when I travel. The thin chain was completely tangled – wrapped around the triple spiral pendant. I struggled with it for awhile – tugging, unwinding, trying to pinch the chain between my fingernails to grasp it enough to untie the knots. It wasn’t working. Determined though, I would not give up the struggle.
And then the necklace slipped from my fingers and dropped to the floor. There it lay at my feet, perfectly untangled. Perfectly ready to be worn as it was made to be worn.
This week, I am that necklace. Letting go, giving in, trusting the fall to untangle my knots.
Just like that moment that I let go of the wing of the airplane and leaned in to the parachute as it untangled itself from my pack and held me gently as I drifted toward the earth. I am soaring, floating, trusting – listening to the distant silence of the earth and learning what the sky tastes like.