Seeing the Unseen Creates New Ways

It was a glorious day today...warm sunshine, cool breezes, big blue skies, cloudscapes...all the things that make for a perfect Pinwheel Girl realm. A recent business trip lasting several weeks finally ended and that meant that my 11 year old son and I could be reunited after a long separation. With such great Spring weather upon us, we decided to explore some of the wetlands in our area to discover what treasures might await us. With camera in tow, we set off to "follow the wind and find something we had lost..."

"...sing all your colors as you soar across the sky into your own magnificence..."

The first thing I began to photograph on our foray were the cloudscapes dancing above us in the Big Sky. I have always felt that it is in the realm of the Blue that our deepest dreams and hidden gifts reside. I invite all of you to spend time in what I call "the Dreamland of the Sky"excavating and ruminating on your dreams, goals, aspirations, and hopes. Some of us have abandoned our dreams, forgotten them, put them aside, or left them on the side of some long ago travelled road. It's important to rekindle these...they are the whispers of your Soul asking you to share your self with the world.

I took lots and lots of photos of the Sky and the Clouds...there were so many "openings" in the cloudscapes -- so many "holes in the sky..." To me, these are huge symbols for us to find and see. When an opening from the Sky occurs or is presented to you, you simply must walk through it...or fly through it! It is there through that opening that all of your authenticity and the seeds of your best life can start anew...to get there you must begin to dream again. Seeing all the holes in the sky made me think that the Universe and our Life Path offer us openings all the time...we have to "see the unseen" -- notice, be aware, take action when the inspiration strikes. When we do this, we can live a life of immense joy and fulfillment.

"...love is in the air..." ~ Literally!

We saw a cloud shaped like a heart lying on its side...Hmmm....love is all around us, you know? Today, literally, love was in the air! Sometimes I think we don't remember that love surrounds us every day, all day. At least I often forget! Sometimes we feel unlovable, forgotten, devalued. But, I have found that the Universe, this big beautiful world of ours, sends me messages ALL THE TIME that I am loved, seen, and valued. How? I find "hearts" wherever I go...rocks, shells, clouds, trees, and more all in the shapes of hearts. When I find one it is like the Universe has just sent me a love letter. I believe it is the Universe's way of sending us a powerful message. Again, we have to have open eyes to "see the unseen" sometimes. You are not alone, not at all, and you are loved. I feel that everytime I find one of my "hearts."

"...memorize the endings and the beginnings....they will come again..."

The wetlands were teeming with new life. Budding trees, birds nesting, bumblebees flitting, and saplings shooting up out of the Earth. We encountered a gaggle of goslings...the sweetest, fluffiest baby geese you'd ever hope to see...following their parents about. Everywhere was the sound of birdsong...like a natural orchestra...they were laughing and talking! The colors were glorious...every shade of green, golden yellows, and the left over browns and rusts of last fall.

My son and I...how can I explain this...we were both SO HAPPY. Being around all this new life, I think that it has a glorious effect on you. There is just so much beauty to be seen looking out into the World. To see all the new life surrounding us, the baby geese, the delicate but swollen green buds on every tree limb, the bees feasting on newly blossomed spring wild flowers, I thought to myself "All of this life around me is beautiful...actually, LIFE is beautiful." Indeed. Despite my problems and concerns, my life is beautiful, too...so is yours. Think about it.

We found a huge tangled up, gnarly, mangled tree rising up out of the wetlands about 6 feet from the muddy shore of the Des Plaines River. The river is quite high right now after the spring rains. This was not the prettiest tree I've ever seen...but it had a majesty to it that made me keep photographing it. The bottom of the tree was a complete mess -- all jumbled up, rotting, falling down, split open, and submerged in water. Many of the main branches had collapsed. It was, as I often say, "tangled up in all sorts of entanglement."

But as I have recently found once again, things have a way of working themselves out. Life unfolds and the tangles get smoothed away…new life begins and new strength is found. Sure enough the upper reaches of this tangled tree were sprouting beautiful green buds amidst new and strong limbs. And in those limbs were many “openings” to the Big Sky behind it…

“…the biggest rocks make the biggest circles…”

My son was having a great time throwing rocks and skipping stones into the river. What is it about boys and rocks? He loved it. Always on the hunt for a special rock to keep and add to our growing piles, we found a very special one indeed. How about sticks? We collected a bunch of those, too, and we found that some of them were in the shape of letters. “L” was one of them. As my boy continued to throw stones and be captivated by the “circles” he could create in the water, I left a “message” for others who might follow us on our journey through the wetlands today.

Just as we were leaving, two grandparents arrived with three granddaughters and a bevy of fishing poles. Instantly, the energy changed…yelling and hollering was the standard modus operandi, it seemed. The first words we heard were “Get away from that boy with the rocks! He’s scaring all the fish away!” followed by “Get that net OUT OF THE WATER – NOW!” I told the grandfather we were just leaving and that the fish would arrive soon. As we left I told my son to tell the three girls we’d left them a message on the shore and to check it out.

Here's the message we left on the river's edge ~ complete with our special rock:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38013406@N06/3495985886/

As we headed for our car and another stop along the wetlands, it occurred to me how there is so much energy powerfully at work in our lives…it takes many forms and is often invisible…it’s important to stay aware and focused on the kind of energy and influences you want to welcome into your life and those you want to offer to the Universe, your fellow human beings, and yourself.

I think of the Wind as a metaphor for the Inner Voice…they are both often unseen and only felt. There is also Deep Knowing and Intuition. What about chance, synchronicity, a hunch, an inkling…these are also energies working hard to get your attention. I like to say that “…there are teachers everywhere…” – in a rock, a stick, a cloud, a feeling, a nod, a glance, a message…Look for these unseen forces working in your life…and when you see them, take notice, and share them.

“…seeing the unseen creates new ways…and a new you…”

Women in Recovery - Transformation and Transition at its Best

This week I had the pleasure and privilege to attend the Graduation Ceremony for 18 women in recovery from substance abuse at a local Women's Services Center. It was one of the best days of my life. Never before have I seen and felt the glory and intensity of the human spirit so hard at work in transformation. At a certain point in time during the two-hour event, words became unncessary -- the feelings evolved so deeply that everything eventually became inarticulate.

Eighteen women, ranging in age from late teens to early 60's, celebrated their recovery from addiction. Many of them had never walked in a graduation processional of any kind. Some were also graduating out of homeless shelters. All of them were graduating into clean and sober life.

We cried, we stood, we clapped, we sang, we danced in the aisles, we laughed, we celebrated, we sighed. And we hugged -- wow, did we hug! In the course of two hours, I received about 50 hugs. Real hugs. Tightly squeezed hugs. None of this "air hug" stuff. I was HUGGED. 50 times. That's how good transformation and recovery feels. You just want to hug people and let them know "I'm back!" and "I finally made it and it feels so good!"

The ladies chanted in Obama-style "YES WE CAN...change lives!" "YES WE CAN...impact families!" "YES WE CAN...celebrate recovery!" The whole room roared! The tears flowed freely.

Two ladies shared their personal stories of harrowing sorrow, degradation, shame and heartache and then finally glorious recovery. They spoke of anger, depression, trauma, abuse, resentment, self-pity, abandonment, rejection, and fear. And they also spoke of fresh new hope, vigor, strength, friendship, support, forgiveness, resolve and solace in their sobriety.

Young children and babies were reunited with now sober mothers who had once lost their children to foster care. Mothers and fathers, now in their late 60's and 70's, witnessed grown daughters in their 40's and 50' be honored for their transformation after a lifetime of addiction and dysfunction. Proud school-agers and teens left school early to attend the festivity in honor of their radiant mothers. SO HAPPY were these parents and children -- their faces lit up like holiday lights -- the happiness was palpable, in their eyes, on their faces, in their gait, in their smiles. This was REUNION and RENEWAL for everyone...

As agency staff were introduced, the ladies responded with thunderous hollers, applause, and standing ovations. Counselors, administrators, evaluators, child care workers, parenting advisors, probation officers, judges, police officers...all were present to celebrate this day and all were appreciated. One of the counselors told me "I love my job, been doing this for 12 years. It is a sheer joy for me to be in these ladies' lives. They allow me to love them."

One by one, each graduate was called to the podium by their counselor and each of the ladies received a certificate, commemorative coin and pin, their own copy of The Pinwheel Girl Takes Flight, and a Pinwheel Girl "Find Your Voice" journal. As I presented my gifts to the graduates, and looked into their eyes, I felt transformed myself...my heart shattered into a million pieces...these ladies busted open my heart and made me find more and more room for all their grace and dignity.

As I looked at them, shook their hands, and exchanged more hugs, I thought to myself..."Everyone is more similar than we think even in a situation like this...maybe we are not all addicts -- but don't we all have to recover from something?"

"And don't we all have to recover something that we've lost?"

Every emotion in the human spectrum was palpable in that room and as I witnessed this I saw firsthand how every single woman on this planet is a WOMAN OF WORTH. Every...single...woman.... is a WOMAN of WORTH...even when she is miserably failing.

Every single woman is capable of transformation, of being true to themselves, and of living the life they love and want. Every single woman, no matter what her life experience is, or her external circumstances, has the inner tools to move through transition and into glory. Every single woman, no matter how small or inconsequential our culture, our political systems, our agencies, our legal system, our schools, and our families believe her to be, has the value and the eventual integrity to become what she was meant to become.

Let's not forget this.

For all the Ladies in Sobriety: "...feel yourself ascending...the wind inside you will carry you...it always does...so soar sweetly upward across the sky and into your own magnificence...there the view is beautiful...to get there begin to dream again..."

For more information about Nicasa Women's Services, visit http://www.nicasa.org/
To share the Pinwheel Girls with a woman you know, visit http://www.pinwheelgirls.com/

Warm Winds to You All!