She is Seen into Being

Today, right at this moment …
I am so incredibly excited that I am about to burst.

As in: burst open, shooting out rainbows
and sunshine and rose petals
and quite possibly even unicorns.

Why? Because today, I am going on an adventure.
Actually a ‘date’ that just happens to BE an adventure.

Not a jump out of an airplane adventure
or climb the highest heights sort of thing.
This will be a quiet adventure.
An outwardly unassuming adventure.

In fact, to just about anyone else,
it wouldn’t seem like much of an adventure at all.
Oh, but, it is!

Because this little date of mine marks the beginning
of something huge and magical entering my life.
And while the first steps might seem imperceptible,
I assure you, this is a giant leap I am taking.

And the heart and spirit
with which I am spending this day
mean EVERYTHING!

But before I say more about that, let me say this:
Hello!!! Hello!!!
And welcome to The Terrified Traveler™ thread of my blog site.

This section of the blog has been ever so patiently waiting all of these months
(since Gladly Beyond launched)
for its fair share of my love and attention.

But I had to go through some things first, you see.
Process some things. Release some things.
Come to new understanding and acceptance about some things.

All in an effort to create enough space in my mind and spirit
for the potent magic I’m about to conjure here to come through.

Because when I tell you that Gladly Beyond
is about me finding the courage to fly my open sky
and to finally, FINALLY explore the world …
I mean it with all of my heart.

So much of this blog thus far has been about getting ready.
And now… I’m as ready as I reasonably can be.
It’s time to go!

After a life spent “going nowhere”
(in nearly every way possible)
this thread, The Terrified Traveler™, is my space to finally
go forth and embrace ‘Life : the ADVENTURE’!!!

And so I’m dedicating this specific thread of posts to chronicling
not only my actual travels out into the world
(of which I hope there will soon be many),
but also my attempts at more joyfully and courageously
exploring the journey of Life itself.

So, in honor of the official kick off
of The Terrified Traveler™ series,
I am embarking on this very special, very private adventure today.

Today being: Valentine’s Day!
By the time you are reading this I have already snuck off
for a most splendid date with … my Self.

A day spent unabashedly courting and wooing a part of my spirit
that has not felt the warmth of the sun on her face in ages.

Only ONE person in the entire world knows what I’m up to,
what I’m doing and where I’ll be today.

Just one person, on the whole planet,
my friend Rilke,
a poet-soul who normally resides here in town
but whom I’ve only truly ‘met’ since he’s been halfway across the world
meandering about Germany.

You see, though I barely even know him,
this lovely fellow reached his hand straight into my Universe recently
and helped revive a once sparkling piece of my spirit
that I had all but forgotten even existed.

She is the part of me
that even those closest and dearest to me have never truly seen.
Which is sad, because she is the part of me that I love BEST!

But I quietly concealed her away long ago
when the old life I was formally living threatened
to smother the spark of life right out of her.

I tucked her away
like Rapunzel in a tower,
telling her: “Hide! Hide!”
and causing even more harm to her in my efforts to keep her safe.

Denying her what every beautiful true thing needs and longs for:
to be seen … to be celebrated … to be witnessed.

And then, out of nowhere, Rilke enters in,
catching a glimpse of her peering out through the cracks of me
(without even realizing that she has been voiceless
and invisible for nearly two decades),
and he simply smiles and strikes up a conversation with her.

And in that moment of being recognized,
she gasped, opened her eyes and breathed in,
flooding me once more with every ounce of joyful, illuminating light that she is.

Some shifts happen slowly over time.
Others happen instantly.

(Mygod, isn’t it amazing how powerfully transformative
and healing the simple gesture of relating to someone can be?!
How when we have the kindness and courage
to simply be generously open-hearted with someone …
how much true good we can do?!)

And so, after processing being so excited to see her again,
I came to realize that she is my missing piece.
She is the sparkle I’ve been without that I’ve been futilely trying to recreate.

Now I don’t need to.
She is what lights me from within.

And so, now … NOW my adventuring can begin.
As in now = right-this-minute,
with today’s first adventure that I’m already on.
{tee hee hee!}

If you’ll forgive me, I’m keeping this one private in my heart.

But I promise, there will be many many more adventures forthcoming
and I’m so excited to share them.
The Terrified Traveler™ thread is officially launched.

But in the meantime …

How about YOU?!
What magical part of you have you been keeping hidden?
It’s Valentine’sDay! Wake that part of you up and show it some loooove!!

What adventure is your spirit needing to go on?

p.s. life = happening right now.
Don’t hide what’s brightest about you away.