What a RIDE!

 

Covering 10 miles

On foot

Me

And

The road

And

ALL of Nature

At play

Step by step

The places I GO

Within my Self

Within the city

Within this world

One moment

I am climbing a hill

So steep

My butt is burning

My breath is labored

All systems GO!

Firing new muscles

Powering me

Up!

Up!

Up!

Until I crest

One moment

I discover

A new path

That calls me

Quenching my thirst

For new ground

Discovering

New views

To awaken my senses

One moment

I am sipping in the

Delicious autumn air

Giving thanks

The next

I am crying

Tears streaming

Hot & cleansing

No particular reason

No story in my mind

A flood of emotion

Swoops in

Washing

Through me

ONE more reason to give thanks

That I can FEEL

That whatever waves

Wash up

Wash over

I can RIDE them

Allowing them

Knowing THIS is LIFE

HONEST moments

SO alive!

It takes far more effort

To resist what is

Life ebbing & flowing

Nothing stays the same

As long as there is breath

There is LIFE

PULSing through us

To attempt to KEEP things

The same

Is to CUT OFF

Life

Ever-flowing

Ever-expressing

Through us

As us

To STOP the RIDE

Deadens us

To LET GO

Of how we think

Life SHOULD be

And

Welcome all it IS

OPENS us

The VALVES of LIFE

Pouring through

Showering us with Graces

Immeasurable BEAUTY

Holding our hearts

In awe

Rejoicing:

WHAT A RIDE!

What a RIDE life is!  All of life, moment by moment takes us into our Self through external experiences out in this wonderful world.  And to look back and see the totality of the ride, every bump, jolt, twist, turn and surprise, we draw strength not just to survive what comes but to use it to infuse us with hope for all that is to come. 

I was working with a man who is an adventurer, starting new business after new business and selling them off to move on to what’s next.  He is a new parent and although he loves his son deeply and is actively participating in his care, he is terrified that he won’t be a good father.  His ability to be with all of his feelings gave him the opportunity to see that being a dad is a new adventure he is embarking on day by day by day just like all the other adventures he has lived.  This shift in thinking freed him to let go of some idea of what a good dad is and the fear that he won’t be good.  Showing up each day, he dives into the direct experience of parenthood with all of him.  When he speaks of his son and their interactions, he does so with enthusiasm, laughing and giggling as he welcomes the new, the unknown.  The joy in his discoveries is inspiring as hell, seeing he is far more than he knew before this adventure as he says over and over:  What a RIDE! 

This way of living Life as a ride is made possible from being tuned in and connected, acknowledging feelings, being present to it all, willing to look at and face honestly what we want to walk around, run and hide from, ignore or stuff; shifting perceptions, adopting new thoughts and beliefs that OPEN the valves of life freeing us to flow with instead of against this unfolding adventure, this ride.  It is simple in theory but difficult in practice to let go! to trust our Self, to trust life and let it strip what no longer serves in order to make space for more, for the new life bursting through.  To make choices and see where they lead us step by step and changing directions with new choices that take us into paths that await is RIDING life, its waves of grace ever-present consciously and joyously. 

I remember my late-husband, John sharing that as a Marine in Vietnam he grew to appreciate the sound of gun fire because as long as he could hear the gun fire, it meant he was still alive.  WOW!  WOW!  WOW!  The first time he told me that it sent chills through my body and it still does.  The power of perception to bring the sunshine, the light into the darkest of moments and times allowing us to ride life as an adventure not merely survive it or endure it.  Within us all, life springs, fueling us onward and upward, inviting us to ride, to find our way to the joy in living, freeing the miracles we are to create a life we absolutely love.

The invitation this day is to declare over and over:  What a RIDE!  Every experience that comes your way adopt the attitude:  What a RIDE! and welcome the information – what it is there to show you, to tell you, to usher you into more of you, to inspire you into action.  Seeing that everything that comes your way is a part of this grand adventure no less than the adventures you enthusiastically sign up for that you are completely OPEN to that excite you with anticipation.   Review your life as an ever-hatching, ever-growing miracle expressing as YOU.  Extract the beauty in your adventure even in the moments that you want to wish away.  Be present to emotions that wash up and let them come and go riding the necessary waves.  You are here not to merely survive the roads you take or the roads you were forced on due to detours; you are here to be enlivened by the totality of the human journey and what a helluva ride it is!