Hidden In Plain Sight

little fellow working diligently. The picture doesn’t do it justice. The way the morning light hits and sends beautiful prisms of rainbow is magic. And I can’t help but wonder…

do spiders know the intricate beauty of their web? Or do they simply have faith that each part they create is working towards something greater, and that what they build will be enough?

When I first began suspension, I had envisioned that it would simply be like floor work but suspended… like a pretty marionette doll. I was in for a shock. It hurts, it’s uncomfortable and it’s damn hard work. What? What the? She must just be saying that because she’s unfit and out of shape.

Yeah… I thought that too.

Funny thing is, as I get fitter and in better shape… and more experienced as a bunny… the greater the appreciation I gain for what we do. It requires a lot of core strength to maintain strenuous positions during transitions. It requires knowledge to know what is good discomfort and what is bad discomfort. It requires a lot of mental strength in moments of uncertainty or worry. It requires trust, communication, self-awareness, honesty and humility. In other words, it requires education and training, on your own time, outside of sessions.

I jumped into rope with such naivety, even though I did it slowly and with experienced guidance. I had a belief that it would be easy. I had a belief that discomfort was a choice and simply depended on the style. I misunderstood what the relationship was. I have had to learn to simply accept that I will hurt for my Rigger to be able to perform his art. I have had to learn patience while he does what he does. I have had to learn how to explain the many different ways in which discomfort can present. I have had to create a relationship with my body, listening intricately to what it tells me… before, during, and after our rope sessions. I have had to learn to honour my body each and every time I step under that anchor point… respecting precisely where it is on that day, in that moment. Not where it was yesterday or last week. And I have had to learn to voice these things without ego, guilt or shame. I have learned to live in the moment. To let go and simply breathe. Simply listen. Simply feel.

There is magic in rope. But it doesn’t come without the cost of some sweat.

I am an incurable romantic

I believe in hope, dreams and decency

I believe in love,

Tenderness and kindness.

I believe in mankind.

I believe in goodness,

Mercy and charity

I believe in a universal spirit

I believe in casting bread

Upon the waters.

I am awed by the snow-capped mountains

By the vastness of oceans.

I am moved by a couple

Of any age – holding hands

As they walk through city streets.

A living creature in pain

Makes me shudder with sorrow

A seagull’s cry fills me

With a sense of mystery.

A river or stream

Can move me to tears

A lake nestling in a valley

Can bring me peace.

I wish for all mankind

The sweet simple joy

That we have found together.

I know that it will be.

And we shall celebrate

We shall taste the wine

And the fruit.

Celebrate the sunset and the sunrise

the cold and the warmth

the sounds and the silences

the voices of the children.

Celebrate the dreams and hopes

Which have filled the souls of

All decent men and women.

We shall lift our glasses and toast

With tears of joy.

~Leonard Nimoy~

I want to be Your favourite toy…

Recently, I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport as the daughter's departure had been announced. Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said:"I love you and I wish you enough."The daughter replied, "Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom." They kissed and the daughter left.The mother walked over to the window where I sat. Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry.I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?" "Yes, I have," I replied. "Forgive me for asking but why is this a forever good-bye?""I am old and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is the next trip back will be for my funeral," she said.When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, "I wish you enough." May I ask what that means?" She began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone." She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she smiled even more. "When we said 'I wish you enough' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them". Then turning toward me, she shared the following, reciting it from memory…

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye."

She then began to cry and walked away.They say it takes a minute to find a special person. An hour to appreciate them. A day to love them. And an entire life to forget them.

*not my story, just came across it and wanted to share. 

“Dreams come a size too big, so we can grow into them.”