A Weekend in BWCAW: Release.
Reflecting on the sweetest weekend with dear friends,
On canoeing and paddling and portaging,
Cooking over the campfire,
Laughing, reading, hammock-napping,
Being bombarded with sneaky pupper kisses,
Being 100% content with soaked socks, smelly boots, and unwashed hair,
Embracing sun, wind, rain, whatever came,
And taking each day one paddle stroke at a time.
This year has been a sweet lesson in release.
Understanding in new ways that we can’t control the current,
But we can find a happy rhythm within it;
We can’t direct the wind,
But we can adjust our sails.
Learning that sometimes the most loving thing we can do
Is let go.
Learning that confronting, healing, and finally laying to rest our heartscars
Is the hard but necessary, freeing and worthwhile work that life demands if we want to grow and thrive.
Learning that our communities might burn to the ground,
Our loved ones might fall ill,
Our lives might take a turn we never expected.
And that when faced with these circumstances
It is only in the brave releasing of our fears, wounds, and preconceived notions
That we are enabled to fully show up, hold space, be present, and engage patiently and lovingly in the beauty and brokenness within and around us.
And I’m finding again and again
That on the other side of release
Lies the deeply joyful, exuberant, whole, authentic life our hearts crave.
A life that flows more freely, breathes more easily, laughs more readily, sees more clearly.
Where the best is yet to come.
Where fear fades as faith builds and swells and rises.
Where we accept and sit with what is,
And still dream of and hope for and create and discover what is to come.
Where every day we feel
Open-hearted.
Playful.
Alive.
Captivated Me 