On Sighing & Flying

A few weeks ago,
I was supposed to be in Paris.

But that plan was thwarted.

So, I went slow dancing with the Sky, instead.

I opened mySelf up wide
and let altitude and breeze slowly stroke through me.

I flew right up into the Sky’s welcoming, wind-swept arms
and saw my own Self reflected there.

It was one of the most poignant experiences of my life,
that I had on a kite-like wing
during an early morning (my first ever) hang-gliding adventure.

For nearly a year now,
I’ve been trying to live into the adage “fly your open sky”.

And though my spirit has been doing well at this for months,
this was my body’s first chance to give the concept a real try.

The experience, in a word, was … tranquil.

In fact, one of the most striking memories I have from that morning,
is the giant, wave-like breaths that kept rolling through me.

Almost as soon as we were off the ground,
I started taking these massive slow, sighing breaths,
pulling the Sky deep within, and letting it meander through me.

My whole body would quietly shudder
with new lightness, buoyancy and expansion after those breaths.

And on each exhale …

so many hurt things I’ve struggled with,
simply blew away … {sigh}, so easily.

I would go hang-gliding a thousand times over and again
just to feel those releasing breaths slide through me some more.

For it was with each of those that the insights came.

And of all the A-ha’s that came amongst the gentle Ahhhhh’s of that morning
(and, wow, there were so many) …

my favorite was seeing Me for who I truly am.

You see, when I went sky diving a year or so ago,
that felt like trying to be something I wasn’t … deliberately.

Back then I was so ashamed of all the fear I was feeling in my new world.
I thought I should be different.
Bolder. More extreme.
More “ Grrrrr!!” > Less gentle.

But … I am gentle.

Intellectually, yes, I am sharp, smart, and scrappy.
Emotionally, I’m told I am uncommonly brave.

But physically, I am gentle.

My spirit … is gentle.

There is nothing “hardcore” about me, except maybe kindness.

And for the first time in my life, knowing this felt okay.

So, while sky diving felt like ripping through resistance
and trying to, all at once, leap into everything I’m not.

Hang-gliding felt like finally being unapologetically Me.

It felt like being One with the Sky
and having a ‘welcome home’ party with the wind.

It felt like clear vision.

I am not adrenaline.
I am poetry.

And I am so grateful to finally recognize this about mySelf.

So, yes, mark me down as an epic fan of hang-gliding.
This is the Sky experience my little bird soul has been needing.

-xo!

All of that said …
do you want to see my hang-gliding video now?

Yay!! {smilingsmilingsmiling}
I so hope you do.

Two quick things about it:

First: this is my very FIRST attempt at editing anything in iMovie. = Don’t judge me!

Second: the song in this video could alone have been the blog post for this experience. I actually heard this song playing in my head while I was hang-gliding. e/S shared it with me a few weeks earlier and the lyrics were words I could have written myself, they are so exactly my story. This song feels in my heart how those Sky breaths felt in my body.

Read the lyrics to “Welcome Home” here: http://old.radicalface.com/lyrics/ghost.pdf 

And so now, I simply must give a glorious and grateful shout out to Malcolm and the crew at Wallaby Ranch.

If you want to give hang-gliding a try, Malcolm is the dude to see. He has done more tandem hang-gliding flights then anyone else in the world. Although, really, he does not “do” this. The man IS this. I have never met someone so confidently nonchalant about their expertise. When we went flying, the dude didn’t even bother wearing shoes!

He was incredibly kind to me. And encouraging.

My favorite moment with him was while we were casually chit-chatting during our flight. And suddenly the reality of that hit me. And I laughed and said “Wow. We are totally having a conversation right now … in the SKY!!!” Thank you, Malcolm.

p.s. And thank you hugely, Lazarus for being there to witness. (#iD0)