The Inside Life

travelling companions

September 27th, 2009

Sometimes in life we plunge forward into new endeavors and are full of energy, and sometimes we feel the need to step back and regroup before moving forward. I have felt both of these urges over the last two weeks while taking part in a workshop designed to tune our senses, and I am grateful for the opportunity to experience insights and journeys I wouldn’t have otherwise.

My belief that nothing is coincidence and that the universe provides us with the tools to learn the lessons we will need somewhere along the way has been reinforced, and I have for the most part felt joy in the connections we have to all around us and the rest of the universe. I have talked to trees and butterflies and had old friends come visit me in meditations, and I do not feel the isolation I did in the past. I didn’t feel isolated in a spiritual sense, but did physically since I don’t really have many friends to hang out with locally. Over the last couple of weeks I have been reminded of all the creatures around us who are excellent companions on our journey through this life.

My suggestion for anyone feeling alone or unloved would be to go for a walk or sit quietly outside in a secluded spot and just listen and look around. Notice the trees around you on your walk and touch them. Feel the energy and wisdom that flows through them, and notice that they have been here for many years and will continue to be for many more. Observe the butterflies, squirrels, ants, or even the annoying mosquitos around you, and just watch the ants go on about their way as they collect food and do what nature has programmed them to do.

Whether you sit quietly or walk on your adventure, take care to notice life teems everywhere around us and that we are part of a larger picture. No one is every truly alone and you can never be insignificant or unloved. You are a unique individual who is not promised an easy ride along your path, but you are also part of a larger community of animals, plants, and the planet itself. That community is in turn part of a larger community which consists of everything. Since each creature, rock, speck of dust, or other substance has a unique place in this enormous community, your place is no less important or cherished by the community as a whole than any other creature’s contribution.

Whether we feel all the energy around us or are oblivious to all of our companions, it is there nonetheless and we can choose to be part of this wonderful community instead of feeling isolated or feeling that our lives are pointless or less than what we deserve. Take a walk or sit awhile and feel the energy around you before you decide that you are alone in your struggles. Watch that ant climb all the way up that tall tree without wondering if he will make it or enjoy the sparrows and squirrels searching for food alongside each other. They may not be buddies, but they all have a place and are part of the same universe you are part of as well. This wonderful energy flows through the birds, squirrels, the trees, the earth below your feet, and through you, and it flows whether you realize it or not.

So take a moment and feel your own special place among all the creatures around you, and know you share the energy that flowed through your ancestors and their surroundings. Feel how amazing and valued every creature around you is, and open yourself to all of your companions on your journey. I suggest on those days when nothing seems to work right and you feel you can’t climb the tree any more that you take a few minutes to watch that ant and sit against that tree that has stood despite storms and drought. They are part of the same community you are and they have lessons to teach you. I wish you peace and the knowledge that you are a valuable part of this huge universe.

Posted in Reflections | 5 Comments »

the watchers

September 20th, 2009

I dreamed last night I was lying in a forest with animals around me. There were rabbits and skunks munching greenery nearby, a snake curled up around my right arm, a family of deer, and dragonflies and the same yellow butterflies from my back yard flitting around me. I felt warm and relaxed, and when I looked down I saw a huge female wolf curled up in the crook of my left arm with her head across my breast. I felt some movement against my side and saw that she was nursing a very young litter of pups with her eyes half-closed in contentment.

I closed my eyes and basked in the glow of being with so many creatures, but heard a noise next to me and opened my eyes to find the vulture from my meditations looking at me. I felt that he wanted me to come somewhere with him, and I noticed that I was covered in those pretty yellow butterflies. They were literally covering my whole body and that of the wolf against me. I looked around and saw that there was a white horse now happily eating grass admist the other creatures, and they were all covered with yellow butterflies as well.

Vulture began to fidget as if impatient, so I relaxed and let myself drift. I felt myself slowly rising as he opened his wings and made his way out of the small clearing. I found myself over my body and wondered if it would be safe if I didn’t come back to it, and the wolf raised her head, gave a short howl and relaxed again as if to say she and the others were watching me while I was gone. The animals were all grouped around my body and it was still covered with the butterflies, and I turned to go with the vulture. Just as we were circling on a thermal high above the group on the ground before leaving on our quest my daughter came to wake me up, so I don’t know where we were going. It was a wonderful dream though, and I was looking forward to our journey. I hope to continue it soon, and also to feel the animals near me and the butterflies all over me. It felt as if they would all fly off carrying me with them, and the sensation was amazing.

Posted in Dreams | 1 Comment »

beginnings

September 12th, 2009

As I showered today I stood under the hot spray thinking of how soothing and familiar the water felt I took the opportunity to meditate a bit. I went with the feeling and imagined myself floating in warm water with no need to breathe, no concerns in the world, and no agenda at all for the forseeable future. I put my head completely under the water and felt it envelope me in warmth and relaxation, and then raised my hands to catch the water as it fell.

I soon felt myself floating freely without even feeling my feet on the shower floor, and I imagined curling myself up into a fetal position. I had the sensation of cleansing and preparation for a birth of sorts and inhaled the warm fluid that surrounded me as I felt my mind drifting along with my body. I let myself feel totally protected as life went on around me but vaguely at a distance, and the sounds I heard were muffled and far off. As I stretched my body back out and raised my hands over my head I felt a warm soft womb around me, and I felt the swish of fluid moving with me as I wiggled my fingers and toes in the warmth. I twirled and swallowed the soothing fluid, and as I gently kicked off from the soft cushioning around me I thought of how I wasn’t sure what my original experience had been in a place like this.

Was I welcomed, or was there yelling and anger when I was in a place like this originally? I’m really not sure and as I considered it I realized that didn’t matter. What mattered was that I can nurture myself now. I can float, feel warmth and love surround me, and I can feel the softness of a womb that I can visit any time I like. Yes, it is a wonderful thing to begin this life in a place of welcome and safety, but it is just as soothing and amazing that I know I can create my own place of comfort whenever I wish. I smiled to myself as I bounced off the soft cushioning walls, did some slow flips and twirls, and thought about beginnings.

We begin throughout our entire lives. We are born, pass through infancy and start school, become a teen and then young adult, get jobs, maybe marry and have children, watch them grow and find their own beginnings, and along the way we begin each day with the possibility of making it the best we have ever lived. We can create our own womb and nurture ourselves while we give ourselves opportunities to feel the love and welcome we all deserve. It is within our power to float, kick, or squirm in that relaxing place at any time that we are stressed, confused or just need to cleanse ourselves and find a place to recharge.

As I dried off after my shower I sighed with contentment knowing that I do not need to dwell on one particular beginning when I have the ability to create each day as it comes. Now that’s a wonderful thing…the power to create our own beginnings.

Posted in Meditations | 6 Comments »

Pop!!

September 2nd, 2009

Last night I found myself walking down a pretty path surrounded by low, bright, neatly trimmed plants that were bursting with color. I felt relaxed enough to hum as I walked along sniffing the fragrances that drifted on the breeze, and the temperature was perfect. The sun shone just warmly enough to keep the bees happily buzzing from blossom to blossom, so I picked up the pace a bit until I was whistling and striding jauntily down the path with no particular destination in mind.

I noticed a fragrance then that put a damper on my cheer with some unpleasant memories, so I slowed down to a stroll and sighed. The sky didn’t seem quite so blue, and I really didn’t care whether the rest of the flowers smelled good any more, so I put my head down and become lost in thought. I didn’t really notice that I had company until I heard a soft snuffle, felt a warm grassy breeze on my face, and looked up into familiar blue eyes.

My beautiful white horse friend began to nuzzle my arm, and I giggled as he tickled my side with his soft muzzle. He blinked those amazing eyes at me with the silliest expression a horse can manage and motioned for me to look at his back. I saw a red ribbon tied to the end of his mane and a whole bouquet of bright-colored ballons waving about in the breeze above him. The balloons were as bright as the flowers around us, and he reached back and grabbed the ribbon in his mouth. He knelt on his front foreleg and lowered them to eye level, and as I admired all the pretty colors I saw movement inside them! I leaned in a bit closer and saw scenes from my childhood that were hard for me to look at even after all the time that had passed, and I backed off and stood up with a sharp sigh of annoyance.

I looked back at my friend and let my feelings be known, and just as I started to walk away I felt a sharp pain in my foot. I jumped, said a colorful word, and bent down to remove a sharp splinter of thorn from my arch. When I stood I found myself face to face with the balloons and grisly images again, and without a thought jabbed the thorn into each balloon in turn. Each burst with a resounding “POP!!”, and I realized I felt powerful and light again as I looked at each nasty event and promptly popped it into oblivion! I was actually enjoying myself and felt a bit disappointed when I was down to one green balloon, so I peered more closely to savor the experience. I laughed when I realized the last remaining balloon was filled with me plodding along after I smelled the gardenia flower that had sent me to my past, aimed my thorn and popped it out of existence.

The blue eyes met mine again, and he seemed to be laughing with me for a moment. Then he became serious and started pawing the ground the way you see horses do to count in the old comedies. I rolled my eyes at his silliness and looked down to see what he was writing with his hoof in the loose dirt. It simply said, “The pop wasn’t as loud as you expected, was it?”

I had to laugh since he somehow knew I hate the sound of balloons popping. I would keep one to lose air and eventually collapse, all the while sitting in a corner annoying me, instead of popping it. He was really right though, since I didn’t mind the pop at all when I was focused on getting rid of the images once and for all. I was enjoying the sight of them dissipating and my feeling of power too much to mind the pop, and I actually enjoyed it. I smiled at him, rubbed his soft gray muzzle, and we took off down the path together to enjoy the beautiful day.

What he was trying to tell me was simple to say but harder to do. The past isn’t put to rest until our need to live in the present and make our own future is stronger than our need to live in that past. When the time is right we can send those old memories where they belong…up in a puff of air. Next time I smell a gardenia perhaps I will just smell a gardenia:)

Posted in Journeys | 5 Comments »

Going with the flow

August 29th, 2009

During my yoga meditation the other day I took a delightful journey that I would like to share with you. The instructor began to describe surfing and feeling waves beneath us, but I found myself immediately in a hot, flowing stream of molten lava. I wasn’t uncomfortable or frightened, but instead part of a massive flow coming up from the depths of a dribbling volcano. I was one small piece of rock being moved along in this beautiful, unstoppable flow that was changing the landscape as it moved down the hill, and I was content to flow along with all the other tiny rocks caught in the fluid rock mass.

Soon I felt cooler air and could somehow see brilliant sunshine, and I felt the giddy sensation of riding a roller coaster over the crest of the big curve as we started flowing down the side of the volcano. My fellow rocks and I carved out a path of cooling rock all the way unto a beach, and as we neared the high tide rushing up onto the beach I wondered what my fate would be when we reached the water. Would I cool and become a part of the rocky beach, or would I become part of the ocean or air? I pondered this briefly, but my thoughts were cut short by a wave breaking over me.

I felt the chill of the cold water splash me, heard hissing in my ears as a cloud of steam rose around me, and found myself lifted up with the wave. I was cold after the heat of the lava flow, but it was refreshing and rather exhilarating to be lifted up and hurled back toward the ocean. I realized I was one speck of that huge volcano travelling upward to become part of the breath of tides that rose and fell from the depths just as my chest usually rose and fell with each breath of air I take. I hit the water then, skipped a few times, and was overtaken by a surge from below.

As I churned deeper into the ocean I swirled and became part of a bubble of air rising to splutter at the surfacea and felt the roller coaster sensation again. I was tossed up into another wave, spat out of the cool water, and found myself floating high above the surf. I realized I was drifting upward on the air currents to become part of a dark, heavy cloud, and soon I was being tossed back earthward onto the very volcano I started my journey in. Since it was still rumbling with lava dribbling down the slope I landed with a hiss of steam to become part of the same flow I began in, and soon I was warm and secure in the flow again. Just then the instructor called us back to class, and I felt very relaxed and refreshed. Who knew that even a tiny speck of rock could relax, go with the flow, and let nature take its course with such adventure and exhilaration? The next time I feel overwhelmed and lost among the masses, rushing along with schedules and deadlines, I know I can find myself flowing quietly down a mountainside on the way or swirling in a bubble on the crest of a wave. What a great reminder to just go with the flow and let the universe unfold!

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

Still listening

August 24th, 2009

I slept a bit more last night, but still woke three times from dreams. The first two were the same as the ones I discussed in my last post, but the last one was different.

This time I had started drifting off after waking from a previous dream, but this time the men were standing and shaking hands instead of being seated. The room was still only lit by a small lamp on a dark end table in a corner, and I still couldn’t see the men’s faces. I could hear them murmur to each other and then one cleared his throat and spoke more loudly. He said, “We know this can’t be known and we know how to make it stay between us. When things happen we can’t control we have to take control, and I know we’ve decided how to do that tonight. Do your part and don’t talk about this again. We have one chance and anyone who blows it disappears with a lot of pain.”

They all nodded and drifted off one by one, and soon there were only two men left. They hunched toward each other to speak in hushed tones, and I know I have heard the first voice somewhere before, although I can’t place it. The familiar voice said something that made my hair stand up even more than it already was and turned to leave the room as the dream ended. He said, “You know what will happen if this gets out. We can’t let that happen whoever it costs.” The “whoever” gave me a chill as I woke up, and I still hear that voice…cold as ice.

Posted in Dreams | 1 Comment »

Listening

August 23rd, 2009

For the last couple of days I have been listening. Now most days I listen to many things, but this listening is different. I felt a jolt a couple of nights ago of something shifting somewhere, and since I can’t tell you where or who shifted it seems rather silly to discuss. However, I have been dreaming since the same dream over and over since then, so I decided to process it a bit here.

As I sat at my computer and prepared to sign off for the night I felt off balance, a bit disoriented, and as if a puzzle piece slipped into place somewhere. It wasn’t as if a huge earthquake decimated a city or all the financial markets suddenly crashed at that moment, but more a feeling that something was set into motion somewhere. I felt all my hair stand up the way I do when there is something not in our usual realm of five senses going on, and that feeling has never been a false alarm in my almost fifty years of life. It only lasted a few minutes, but since then I have felt as if something is rolling like a snowball down a hill and have dreamed the same dream over and over each night. As I think about it now my hair is standing up again, and not only do I need to get a good night’s sleep, but perhaps if I process it a bit I can finally sleep and put the experience behind me.

As I drift off to sleep I hear voices in the background, and although I can’t hear what they are saying I realize they are men’s voices. I can catch snippets of phrases, but not enough to understand the whole conversation, so I am confused and strain to hear more clearly. I am in semi-darkness, but I’m not sure if I am in a darkened room or just not completely present, so I try to let my eyes adjust so I can see who is speaking. One or two voices sound a bit familiar, but I can’t quite place who they are, and the whole atmosphere is one of serious hushed planning.

I try to move closer to get a better vantage point, but since the only lighting is a desk lamp off in a corner the men’s faces are mostly silhouette and shadow. The whole room reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode where you only see mouths talking and can’t see the rest of the person’s face, so I start to dismiss this as my psyche trying to process some unknown issue from daily life and relax. Then I realize my hair is still on end, and the feeling that something here is important and nothing to do with my psyche becomes overwhelming.

As I have repeatedly during the last two nights I start to circle the room from my vantage point behind the men, and I catch phrases such as, “this time get it right” , ”last chance to do this”, and “get this in motion now”. They are leaned toward each other as if this is intense and very serious, and the whole atmosphere in the room is heavy and laced with fear and determination as if they are all focused on one urgent and essential task. I really want to understand, so I lean even closer and hear, “can’t control nature, but we must control the rest of this”. I feel those hairs stiffen even more and lean forward to peer into the group to see who they are and feel as if I fall foward.

I end up falling into the middle of the group, and although they obviously don’t see a woman falling in their midst it seems a couple of them feel something and jump in their seats. I hear two voices say with alarm, “What was that? Did you see something? What was that noise?” and then I am awake in bed. This dream has gone on all night for two nights, and although writing it didn’t help me figure out what it is about, hopefully the energy will be released so I can sleep tonight. I have meditated on it and only feel that it is important and outside myself so far, but only time will tell.

Posted in Dreams | 6 Comments »

rounded edges

August 1st, 2009

My meditations have shifted lately to gauze and cotton candy, and the change is a bit disconcerting to me. I usually have detailed, vivid, visions with a definite theme to them, but lately they are leisurely and very relaxing. Perhaps that is indeed the theme after all when I think about it, and I will start enjoying them for what they are. I have been learning the Japanese healing art of Reiki, and I have been experiencing a shift in my perceptions since I began my classes.

I recently found myself once again drifting contentedly in gray mist, and since this seems to be a common situation for me now I felt comfortable enough to lie back and relax into the mist with no thought to lessons to be learned or messages to receive. I felt no surface below me, but rather the sensation of drifting peacefully with no physical sensations at all. I drifted nowhere in particular with no goal in my mind at all, and I felt as if my mind simply became part of a collective energy that simply existed. It was a delightful sensation and one I highly recommend, and the only unpleasant part of the experience was dragging myself back down to earth and consciousness. I now see how monks can sit and meditate for days on end, and I know I will be returning as soon and as often as possible.

Maybe there was a lesson floating around in that mist after all. The energy that flows through all of existence, which is the energy that flows through all things and is a common current that connects everything to everything else, exists not only when we choose to acknowledge it or allow it to flow freely through us, but has existed since the beginning and will flow long after this planet has no physical life forms on it. It flows through and connects us all every second of every day, and whether I choose to take the time to drift and enjoy the energy flowing through me, or to focus on the sharp edges of daily life and neglect that part of myself it will still exist without alteration. Some might call this energy God while some might call it the natural order of the physical universe, but while I drifted in that exhilarating, relaxing mist of energy wisping all around me I had no labels for anything or anyone and needed none.

Maybe that was the lesson to be learned after all…it simply is what it is and that is the beauty of it.

Posted in Meditations | 2 Comments »

Relativity

July 17th, 2009

I’ve been pondering who I am and what place I am to occupy in this vast universe. Yes, the age-old question that never seems to have a distinct answer has come to roost on my doorstep. I have been learning Reiki recently, and this seems to have not only changed my body, but shifted my perspective as well. I have been meditating on the issue of reality versus perspective and had some interesting thoughts on the connection between the two.

I found myself standing on rocky desert sand under a blazing sun, and I stood blinking in surprise for a few moments. I looked around and saw only sand, rocks, and shimmering heat, so I decided to climb the small slope ahead of me to get a better view of my surroundings. I trudged in the hot sand for what seemed like hours until I reached the top of that hill, and when I looked back I saw I might have walked five feet in all that time. I smiled to myself about my supposed topic of the meditation and chuckled at my own perception of trudging for hours to walk a mere five feet, and then I set about exploring the desert.

I saw at first nothing but rocks, sand, and shimmering heat, and fervently wished for a camel to ride to keep my hot feet off the ground. As I was thinking about how easy it would be to perish from thirst here in this barren place I heard a snort from behind me and felt hot breath on the back of my neck. I jumped and whirled around, losing my footing in the sand and landing awkwardly on my back with my face to the blistering sun. I shut my eyes to the glare and shook my head, felt hot breath on my face, and opened one eye just enough to see a big mouth full of huge teeth a couple of inches from my nose. After a few seconds of shock I looked upward around the mouth to see long, lush eyelashes that belonged to the camel I had wished for a few moments ago.

I started laughing and sat up, and he blinked those amazing lashes at me in surprise. “You did ask for a camel, right? What’s so funny?” came to me, and I thought of all the sand monsters I was imagining and gave him a big kiss on his sandy nose. I asked him if all I had to do is ask for something for it to come to me he nodded his head, and so I asked him why I was still standing in the sun parched with thirst if that were true, and he tilted his head at me as if to ask me me the same question.

I closed my eyes, wrapped my arms around as much of him as I could reach, and I thought about a cool blue pool of water and a tall drink of something refreshing. When I opened them I was standing with my camel friend beside the pool with a frosty drink in my hand, and I slurped it down and jumped into the chilly water. It only took a few moments to cool off, so I stood up in the waist-high water to talk to my friend who waited patiently for me at the water’s edge. I was about to ask him what the lesson was in our little visit, but then I realized I was uncomfortably cold and actually shivering. I realized with a jolt I had knocked my ice water off my desk onto my lap and was sitting shivering in a big puddle of ice cubes!

The camel and the pool disappeared as I came back to reality and cleaned up the spill, changed my pants, and laughed at myself for being so immersed in my meditation I didn’t realize what was happening in reality. Then I thought of my camel friend and realized what the point of the experience had been.

Yes, I was immersed in my meditation, so for that moment my reality was the camel, the hot sand, and then the wonderful cool pool. My perceptions of my interrupted journey were as real to me as the feel of the keyboard under my fingers as I type this, but the perceptions of someone watching me would naturally have been totally different.

Whose version of reality was real? Both events were occuring at the same time, but I was talking to a camel and the person watching would have seen a woman sitting at a computer desk knocking over a glass of water, sitting for a moment, and then jumping up with a gasp. Both versions are accurate reports of the reality of the moment and neither are lies or misperceptions, so perhaps instead of one version being “right” and one “wrong”, they are just relative to each other and can co-exist peacefully. I might have looked silly or dazed sitting at my desk meditating, and who knows if I spoke aloud to my camel friend or held my breath as I swam? In the long run does it matter except as part of someone else’s reality?

So maybe this time I end up with more questions than answers to my original question of my place in the universe. Or maybe I got a partial answer in that I am whatever I perceive myself to be just as others are to me as I perceive them to be as well. I am my own reality since I form my own reality based on my perceptions, and I am part of the reality of everyone who comes in contact with me, although I have no control over how I appear in their version of reality. I can be a wronged wife, lucky mother, sad loser, innocent victim, camel campanion, content partner, or whatever else I choose to be based on my perceptions of the “reality” around me, so I do create my own reality.

My reality is relative to all the other realities of the living things around me, and although I do appear in their realities and hope to contribute positive energy to them, the only reality I can create and change is my own. What a relief and responsibility at the same time, and a beginning to finding my answer. I am to myself who I perceive myself to be, and I am to others as they perceive me to be in their own reality. Therefore my place in the universe is what I choose to make of my reality. I can touch others’ realities as gently and positively as I can while I work on my own reality, and that is enough of an answer for me for now. It’s all relative anyway in the long run after all, so there seems to be no one “right” answer anyway as I see it today. Maybe that was the point all along…there is no one answer as to who we are meant to be or who others should be…it just is and we can strive to be as positive in all realities as possible.

Posted in Meditations | 4 Comments »

All that glitters…

June 27th, 2009

I had been seeing rainbows when I meditated or dreamed all week, so I wasn’t too surprised when I dreamed of one last night. I woke, and then dozed back off to sleep those precious few minutes just before my day began, and to my delight I found myself walking down a path that was surrounded by flowers and lush grasses. I heard birds singing and felt the warm sunlight on my face, and the morning chill was noticably fading with each step I took.

I strode along the path and looked up to see a cloudless blue sky filled with…you guessed it! A huge rainbow filled the sky ahead of me with colors so brilliant I had to squint to see where to step. I smiled and started humming as I moved along the path, and I caught myself paying more attention to the rainbow that kept getting more distinct and vibrant with each passing minute than where I was going. I walked slowly and caught myself thinking about what a huge pot of gold should be at the end of a rainbow as georgeous as this one, and then I realized I really didn’t care about any gold if it meant I had to get to the end of the rainbow and not be able to see how beautiful it was to get it!

Just as that thought settled in and I was feeling as if I could walk there forever I heard a sound and looked up. Sure enough, I had reached the end of the rainbow already, and fortunately my feelings of disappointment were squelched when I saw who awaited my arrival at the end of the truly spectacular rainbow. Right where the end of the rainbow disappeared into the path ahead of me stood a tall, white impressive-looking horse. He began shaking his head as if to motion me nearer and snuffling at me, sending plumes of steam rising before him with each breath. As I drew near I saw he had familiar eyes, and I realized that this was the same horse I had met on the beach in an earlier meditation. There could be no other eyes as brilliantly blue as that horse had gazed at me with that day, and he whinnied as if in greeting when I smiled at him excitedly.

I came up to him and had to urge to touch him as I used to when I visited horses in a nearby pasture years ago, and he moved so I could place my hand on his soft muzzle. I felt him breathe warm moist air into my palm, and I gently tickled his chin as I put my cheek against him with a sigh of pleasure. The moment I touched him I could feel his gentle spirit, and he shifted to look stright into my eyes again. I saw the rainbow behind me reflected in his eyes and turned to see if it remained as bright as it had been and could feel my companion admiring it with me.

I knew he was feeling as content as I had a few moments ago, and I pondered how sad it was that most people are so worried about that pot of gold at the end of all their rainbows that they don’t bother to notice all the hues of the rainbow they’re seeing right in front of them. They don’t see that to find that elusive treasure they have to reach the end of the journey and turn away from all the beauty that’s been all around them the whole time, and they don’t feel appreciation or joy for having the privilege of living each day along the way. I turned to my friend and mused that maybe the rainbow is the pot of gold, and perhaps it’s better to receive one piece of gold at a time to spend as we choose than to wait for some huge unspendable ”pot of gold” at the end of the road and feel poor the whole way there.

Those big blue eyes blinked at me as he shook his huge white head at me in agreement, and he disappeared for a moment behind the clouds of steam his warm snuffles released around us. From behind the steam I could hear a surprising tinkling laugh and his voice telling me not to forget that you can’t enjoy the rainbow if you’re too busy wondering what’s at the end of it, so look up, gather some gold as you go along, and spend it all on those you meet along the way!

I nodded in appreciation of his wisdom as he nuzzled my cheek with his soft muzzle and let out a little whinny. He motioned for me to climb up on him, and just as we trotted off back down the path toward the rainbow I woke up with what I’m sure was a satisfied grin on my face. I’ve been looking for rainbows and white horses all day since I figure I don’t need a pot of gold any more. Something tells me I’ll find all I need along the way, and rainbows really are too beautiful to miss!

Posted in Dreams | 4 Comments »

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