The Journey

Moment to moment, this journey means infinitely more. As I watch my cat smell my robe, draped over the nearby chair by the open window, my heart coos. Her peace is my bliss. Each gentle touch, nose to cotton, twilights open my heart, like the purpling-blue sky as it sets behind the Arizona mesas.

What is it about these desert stars? Thousands of miles and hours away, they resonate higher out here, deepening the pull with a misty-way aura and closening my connection like the red rocks thrust into the sky. They make me want to savor time.

To take my time, in all ways of the phrase, like the delicate etchings from my pen and the brightening galaxies beyond the moon, is to expand my life more meaningful. How much can be felt from a sensory spoken word read only once? In printing my pen, ink-wet tip to complimentary notepad, I slow down. Margins so small, I end up writing small, whispering too like the tiny huffs of fabric-fascination nearby——my cat’s nearly inaudible sniffs beside me on the floor.

Free and loved, we do not take a second for granted. As I take my time, I share my time, relaxing my breath like the open breeze. I sing out the words “I cannot live, I cannot breathe, unless you do this with me.” (Quote from The Adventure by Angels and Airwaves), relishing the sincere truth of that as I evoke the trees. Ponderosa Pines, so tall, they take over the forest, leaving a soft-needle bed and space in between. The type of forest Pocahontas could run through without worry or fear. I adore these deep breaths, these healing exchanges of living wisdom. How powerful to exhale like a Ponderosa Pine, roots so deep and known, they stand sturdy with others, breathing in refreshingly universal air.

As I naturally meet and speak truthfully with others, and vice versa, we extend branches and touch leaves, sharing increasingly more of that elusive One consciousness.

I take my time because I can feel this healing energy. I can feel it grow and ground within me, and increasingly, I can feel it expand in the world. Fork to mouth, from my to-go box, I try vegan cheese this evening for the first time. Realizing, not trending, I honor my heightened awareness, allowing newly-sprouted roots to grow freely in my self-nourished space. But again, this time taken is also time shared, by the grace of trust and love. I am here because I chose myself, and I am here because I chose my boyfriend too. Before I knew about vegan cheese or cared so deeply about decaf coffee, I promised myself that I would not be captured, controlled, or robbed of becoming whole. I promised myself love, trust, and freedom, and in taking my most empowered and significant time, I achieved this in myself, for my cat, and against all odds, in another.

“This is a practice of happiness because it is a practice of freedom.” (Mindfulness and Me by Kira M. Markoff)

I savor this path, and I walk it comfortably because it is my own. Much like the sculpture I came across today in downtown Sedona, my journey and I are self-made, and delightfully, the growth and exploration continues.