“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
As I climb out of the valley and reach the top of these red rocks in Sedona, Arizona, a spectacular vista opens up. Behind me is one valley and ahead of me is another. I settle into the vastness of this place. I am but a speck of dust in this landscape, and yet I am one with the expansive universe.
After taking in the landscape from all directions, I notice the small man-made formation of red rocks that form the Council Lodge — stone seats constructed from the red rocks circle to create a focal point. I sit in one of the seats, and I connect to the question. “What can all the parts of me say a whole-hearted yes to?”
It is January 2020, I am here on a New Year retreat to clarify my intention for the upcoming year. I have been co-teaching this annual workshop-retreat called “Release and Renewal” for a few years now. I connect to the “council lodge” inside of me — the voices of all the parts of me — the voice that wants to stay safe at home, the voice that wants adventure, the voice that wants to achieve great things in the world, the voice that wants to follow my dreams, the voice that wants a steady income, the voice that just wants to stay in bed all day…
All the voices get a vote in the “council lodge.” I connect to the question: “What is my soul calling for in this next year?” … In stillness, I listen. And everyone (all the voices) vote. I move and stand in the center of the physical rocks of the Council Lodge. I listen again to the voice of the heart, the mind, the body, and the spirit…
“I say yes to bringing passion and purpose into everything that I do.”
My friends Suzanne Scurlock and Gary Dotson raise their voices in a song of gratitude at the top of the cliff to all the elements that support us. May our intentions travel far and wide into the world and greet us wherever our travels take us. “O Great Spirit, Earth, Wind, Fire and Sea. You are inside and all around me.”
Gratitude to friends who carry me to the top of mountains. “Don’t look down,” they sometimes say, but I always do. Something about that moment where my stomach falls out from under me keeps me motivated. I’m not afraid because I’m not alone.
“A lot of why I climb is for the friendship, the loyalty and trust, the shared experience of being in that moment.” ~ Jimmy Chin
I reset my gaze to the path ahead, and the reward is at the top. The beautiful sweeping vista surrounds me. I linger, but time does not stand still. As this moment slowly but surely passes, my thoughts move on … What’s next? I cannot stay here forever, but perhaps I can take this moment into the rest of my life. Perhaps from here, I can learn to fly.
It is January 2020. Even from the top of this mountain, I cannot see how the world is about the change dramatically in a few months with a global pandemic. But I am ready to pivot, to shift, … and to listen to the Council Lodge.
“When you reach the top, that’s when the climb begins.” ~ Michael Caine
Visit the Red Rocks of Sedona, Arizona
