There is a place I like to hike close to home. I go there to talk with the Oak and Bay trees, to feel my soul, and to tune into the soil. I have been hiking there since I was a kid.
Recently I had an unexpected experience upon returning to the parking lot after a gorgeous long wander. I found my beloved car had been broken into. Her side window was smashed and my purse, favorite jeans and sneakers were gone from my trunk.
It is an odd feeling when reality shifts so dramatically in one fail swoop. There are so many ways to respond. When I’m honest, I let myself feel the gamut of emotions that come with any shock. I feel the Dragon in me breathe fire, I feel the tender heart in me naked and exposed, I feel the Jedi in me committed to meeting the moment with Grace and even humor.
The poet in me weaves them all together, honoring the mystery and strange perfection of life’s unfolding. Here is what came through…
THE BIG GENTLE
I am the Big Gentle
Not a slow lumbering winny
Not a blown-by-the-wind wisp of a thing
I am the Big Gentle
Like water I flow
Unhindered and unafraid
Even when my car window gets smashed
And my purse plundered
Am I not a pirate myself!
Have I not smashed the windows of my own cherished notions about how this world works!
I am the Big Gentle
Meeting change with a playful stance
Befriending fear with patience
Summoning Mountain Lion protector
Tumbling – Rumbling – Slipping – Sliding
Everything is up for review
For revision and for a re-write
Evolution has taken hold of me in the form of hike, car and smashed window
Sometimes gifts wear disguises
Giving me a chance to see who I really am
I am the Big Gentle.
by Jani Gillette