I flew home last week from dancing for a week with Gabrielle Roth. And I witnessed beauty as I flew home. When the first wheel of an airplane lifts off, I noticed some people, including myself...we put down our books, take out our ear phones, and we look out the window. We want to be present to what we are about to witness. We want all of ourselves to be there; to see us rising. Lifting off.
We were flying above New York, ascending through the thick, then thin layers of clouds. As we approached our cruising altitude, the sun was blinding up there. The clouds from up high looked like a marshmellow carpet below. The blue sky went on forever. I couldn't see the end. It made me think of a story I heard this weekend as I danced at
Kripalu. A fellow dancer and I were talking of death. Usana told me when her friend was nearing death, she said with a spark in her voice, "Oh, I just caught a glimpse!" My friend, wide-eyed, waited for the answer. "What, what did you see?", she asked, wondering what answer she might receive. Her friend answered, "I'm excited!"
I'm excited, she said. Being above the clouds, reminded me of being with God. I can see why she would be excited.
Then, we neared our destination. As we descended, we went through a thick, gray floor of clouds. It was bumpy and I couldn't see anything. Visibility was poor. We descended through layer after layer of gray. I could not see a speck of sun. But, then, I could see the city lights. And they were beautiful. I was happy to see the ground. Something to come home to.
We cannot ascend to look down upon the marshmellow carpet and bask in the sunshine without a few bumps and a storm cloud. And we can't get to the sweet city lights without leaving the sun. What a gift it is. To be able to be in the gray and in the sunshine at once. To be heaven and earth at the same time. To let my spirit run free in my bones. To taste honey and salt on the tongues of our human lives. And we have the sun to come home to. We are in our bodies carrying the sun. Some of us have more layers of gray to descend through, but the sun is there, be sure. Just a little secret. Feel free to share it. We are expressions of the Beloved. No matter what we look like, sound like, act like. We are capable of
being a sweet blessing of Love on this planet. Let us rise to the occasion, the occasion to Be Love. To do this, let us not be afraid of going through the clouds. The sun is there, right above them. And below the gray, we have the city lights to guide us home. Home in body and soul. I'm excited.
