Transformative Forces at Work

Late last week I caught this unusual sunset 'rainbow' just as the light was leaving the skies,  the synchronicity of circumstances that had to come about to create such a sight in itself a marvel.  How often does one see something like it??  In the midst of solar winds and what one source calls the arrival of the Cosmic Pulse from the center of our galaxy, magical sights and transformations are afoot.

I did not run Friday or Saturday;  my right hip and leg once again protested against my will to overcome.  I wondered if I'd strained a ligament,  had a stress fracture-  the movement in my leg became so limited... so when I donned my gear Sunday for a long run I wondered what I could accomplish, hobbling out the door and past the park,  'scanning' my body to ascertain what was not fitting properly where....

I headed for a normal Griffin loop (not too small, not too big), and switched into a slow lope,  the kind a wolf or dog might adopt to cover the ground- slowly and relaxed- while the discomfort moved from my backside to my hip to my thigh, knee and finally ankle.  I walked,  I slowed,  I kept on going....the more circulation,  the more I could feel moving parts ease, like the Tin Man and his oil,  until even my ankle protested less and less....The sun was shockingly bright and warm after a week of late forays....the air filling my lungs like a sweet balm,  as I consciously took in all the light of life into my body, and breathed out the distortions, stuck thoughts, painful beliefs lodged in those defensive positions. 

Later,  after I settled into the porch with my colors, surrounded by the bright light of midday and the forest of plants,  I let that Cosmic Pulse come to me, and felt it reach through the swirl of space to find us,  the little blue dot,  the pearl of Mother Earth, undergoing our historic transformation.  The most powerful things are sometimes the 'invisible ones'....energies unseen which nevertheless are felt.  And as we find ourselves overtaken in this cosmic embrace,  the divine feminine in us senses instinctively that our 'birth' is underway.

My pain subsided greatly after my healing run.  Just so,  as we allow the healing work of Mother Gaia to entrain our Selves with Her,  we synch with the Galactic songs that themselves were birthed from a farther point,  a more central sun....a Multi-verse of possibility that has our redemption in hand.   Somehow,  more than ever,  I feel the certainty of our arrival in something brand new.  If my cells can feel it,  and my heart,  then surely I can 'translate' this to my daily world.  I pray to do just that. 

"Winter" Running, SoFlo Style

We are having our share of 'winter',  yes, when the morning sun cannot burn off the night chill,  at least for a while, and if the sun is not out,  then the pervasive grey of winter skies can feel (almost) like any other more northerly place.  Lack of sunlight also increases seasonal affective depressive symptoms for those sensitive to this issue.  As part of my shift in work schedule- and therefore, running times- I am still feeling my way through these changes.

All last week I tried to run after work.  Great displays by evening sunsets quickly resolved into darkness;  and I do not have good night vision.  Even as the comfort of the night wrapped around me,  I cannot find my feet- so I am finding it challenging to embrace the evening runs.

I headed out for my Sunday run THRILLED to find the morning still waiting for me!  I hugged the sunlight through my skin and watched as the clear, still skies began to fill with a breeze, a few clouds,  the colors of the day turning up their tones and deepening my ease as I settled into the road.

At my pitstop at beautiful John Williams park,  this little guy and a few of his friends, chased me all around hoping for a handout I'm sure,  finally finding his niche and posing for me.....Squirrel medicine is all about "being prepared",  and getting ready for (more) change!  I am quoting from my Medicine card book which also reminds me that creating that 'safe place' is another way to say 'I create an untroubled heart and mind, and I place my wisdom and caring here'.  I can add that the feeling of being cared for,  by the loving embrace of Great Mother,  is sustaining me greatly as I watch- and notice how She places Her Teachers on my path for me to notice...and appreciate!

As I find the pace, the place, the time and trails for my new expansion,  we all reach together for the outcomes of change,  forgetting that even in that moment when we stand where we envisioned ourselves,  we are already getting ready for 'something else' to come.  Somehow it feels as if we are reaching our 'Zero Point',  or that place descending down from the Cosmic clocks where all our timelines have come together in a kaleidoscope of infinite possibilities.  And not that every moment is any different.  But as a collective,  a 'system',  a tribe, a star family,  we are moving as a single body through a doorway,  which might appear differently for each of us.  Every runner has their own run, even on the same route.  Each of us walks inextricably together pushed along by the pressure of Mother Gaia's great birthing,  and pulled through by unseen hands of those who 'know' us, and every nuance of how we react to this ultimate new-ness of All Things.

I trust my body to have the 'feel' of the run,  and continue to move me through morning or evening,  cold or warm expeditions out there on the roads.  Just so,  I trust my heart to 'feel' the pulse of Earth's movement into Her expansion,  where old roads just crumble away to dust and the light has revealed itself even in dark places,  allowing us to 'see' where we plant our feet:  safely every time.  

Running into Changes, and its All Good

As I cruised up the overpass for my Sunday long run, I had the delicious satisfaction of feeling back where I belonged,  gearing up for a nice big Griffin loop,  soaking up the bright sun cradled in the cooler morning breeze.  I had missed my run schedule the prior Sunday since Ruth and I were rained out.  I took on Anglers and settled into Ravenswood with the rising sun at my back.  I found that groove and allowed my feet to find their pace and settled my hips into the steady back and forth that,  when I have the right endurance, will 'set' me into the distance without too much discomfort.  I watched my hands come up and back and felt an 'Explosion of Light' from my solar plexus,  as if I could see the crystalline engine of my body.   It was such a natural feeling and sight, and yet in what felt like the same instant, became extra-ordinary and 'noteworthy'...just as fast as It was there,  I seemed to 'notice'...thus pulling my attention back to 'me noticing'.  But the movement let me stay with it,  and it did.  For the cut down on 35th,  I stayed right at the shoulder of the road and opened up my stride (as far as turtles can),  hurling myself down the broad curves.  I had the air in my lungs.  The water of my body.  The elements/earth of my flesh, as unsolid as we know THAT to be....and finally that crystalline engine of desire running it all,  in me and through me....letting All of Me in at once for at least a few blocks....enough to show me a new experience of my Self.

I took that beautiful gift into my first day on the new job today;  a whirlwind of new supe boot camp and transferring caseload...saying hellos and goodbyes all at once,  trying to sus out my new co-supervisor and the myriad politics embedded in every relationship with staff.
When I made it home shortly after 5 PM (wow!) I grabbed my running gear and took off down the street,  feeling almost desperate to unload the constraints of the day:  the careful listening,  watching/absorbing,  appearing appropriately competent but knowing how much I don't know.  The weather is turning.  The northern cold is coming in.  To the west the sky was framed by the bank of grey clouds, easing in on the warm humid air that had hung around before it.  I felt odd,  like I couldn't sense my feet under me,  and as I lost the daylight,  couldn't see well where I was going.  In fact I managed to get lost for a minute as I cut the loop short. 

As I dodged the first rain drops coming in for home, I had to laugh to myself.  In all my running years I have worked the same schedule in Outpatient, and had the same kinds of runs (during the week),  my mornings not set by alarms, and my loops as long as I pretty much wanted to make them.  Suddenly I realized I was in for a whole new 'school' of running.  Finding very early or late windows and figuring out how to absorb what I need of Nature beside the sunlight,  which was pretty much the whole point!  Still,  as I walked in the door to think about dinner,  I knew I was liking these changes,  this coming into new empowerment, and not just on the job.   Lead me on into new experiences,  Great Mother,  I can see you have my best interests at heart.  Help me help You and keep me humming on the crystalline core running it all inside,  tuned as always,  to You.

Day One Run

I'm in the middle of packing my condo, and my work office (more fun with that tomorrow when I go back to work...) and somewhere in all that came across a pair of Brooks I hadn't worn much.  I go through a lot of shoes:  I'm very particular.  When I woke up today I put those Brooks on and walked out into a breezy, grey morning, the intermittent drizzle between short bouts of sun, bare arms in the cool-then warmer air feeling fabulous on empty streets.  My feet found a happy place in those unexpected shoes and I took my time looping up into Ravenswood and back down,  just enough to feel like I greeted the New Year with appropriate appreciation,  on it's own terms,  as it revealed itself out in the landscape of the world.

Later, my contribution to a mandala-a-day project (FB), and a peek into the "Present of Day One" turning off the OCD button of my typical drawing style in '13, giving myself something to 'unwrap' this year, this present to my self. 

At the same time,  and with all the changes upon us,  I hold onto my miles as my lifeline to stay grounded and connected with Mother Earth.  I pledge to keep listening to and seeing Her, the pain and beauty of what we're all going through together now,  as we keep our pace into the future.  Sometimes, like you, I get tired, I want to stop.  I feel discouraged,  I feel justified to quit.  I ask that all of us remember to ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER, keep faith with each other.  For no matter what,  none of us knows exactly the outcomes of resolutions and good intentions on the New Year.  May we all be here next year, comparing notes on a 'Job Well Done'! and many pats on the back- may all people, animals, all life everywhere be FREE.