Dang, I need a break. A mini zip-line transfusion to jolt my step and give me permission to have a little fun from the regular grind of:

Grocery shopping-taxi-mom-tutoring-teacher-gas pumping-laundry-meal making-coffee sipping-clothes folding-mowing-edging-crazed schlepping-burden holding, bullshit.

I seek a creative adventure, whereas Paul Gauguin stated, “I shut my eyes in order to see.”

The other night, while squirreled up in my new favorite perch, the milky moon started to speak to me. She followed me home again last night, chatting up a storm.

I had to pull over to receive all the messages.

I was a bit flustered at first; I almost forgot how to be me. Later, I closed my eyes and settled into a space between a blink and twirl. I grab myself by the hand and decidedly transformed my imagination into a splendid retreat:

I’ll lay on a beach and let my toes sink into the sand and drift off to the lull of the waves.

I’ll take a break and sip a coffee while delightfully people watching. I’ll have no worries about being somewhere or taking care of someone. My worry radar will be tucked away. I’ll zap the mundane and arduous into a paper sack and fly it high like a kite. Brings new meaning to storing it in The Cloud.

I’ll go to a comedy and relish the laughter. I’ll pull out a jar and tuck a few belly laughs for later. I’ll savor the energy all the way down to my toes. I’ll feel my hair grow as spontaneity flows. Afterwards, I’ll find a hole-in-the-wall joint and eat whatever fancies my current desires: Sushi, Thai, a burger, or an Indian delight. I’ll lick each finger, if need be, and sip my beverage du jour, perhaps order two.

By the time I surface from the fab meal, I’ll have packed my car and head off and easily find a cabin near a creek. I’ll arrive to a fire already glowing. I’ll settle in with my books, my laptop and chocolate. My cat will somehow be there, purring, fed and nonplussed at my arrival. I can hear the crackle of the wood and feel the tender, healing heat. I can sense an immense safeness, solitude and peace.

I’ll eat again because I crave steak on a grill, tender and pink. Miraculously, a chef will appear and prepare my feast. Quickly to disappear because conversation isn’t want I need.

With a flicker and a flutter I’ll fly off like a butterfly and stroll along the Seine River. I’d find a small table set quietly in a nook. I’ll study the rise and the setting of the sun and just be. Letting life trickle through my fingertips as my heart basks in the respite of the orb in the sky.

I’ll go to a concert, see a play, then a ballet….stroll over to a museum and absorb myself into the paintings. I’ll have a chat with the artists past and present and tango between the colors.

My heart will explode at the joy of exploring and finding myself on a cobblestone path nibbling handmade chocolate. Later, I’ll pair up a fresh baguette, a sliver of brie, a handful of grapes and perhaps a bit of Cabernet. If it’s morning, an espresso with steamed milk will be my meal’s companion. Fresh flowers to go will be my signature flare.

By now I’ve figured out how to time travel and my feet are hot. I kick off my flip flops and walk barefoot in a meadow. I’ll wear a long cotton sundress and weave flowers through my hair.

I’ll walk between sand dunes and find the isolation of the ocean soothing. I’ll escort a tribe of newly hatched sea turtles to their destination. Wave upon wave and mile after mile, I’ll walk along the shore and let my thoughts drift out to sea. Until I need a swim. The waves and I, body surfing as if in my youth but confident and free because I have lived through decades of learning truth.

Dry and warm as I snuggle by a bonfire, my sun tinted skin reflects the dancing starry lights. I stretch to poke the embers and find to my delight the sparks shimmer like fireflies. 

We exchange pleasantries and the message is given:

Your light hasn’t gone out—it simply needed to rest.

How are you to keep giving when you don’t spare anytime for play? Give to your soul what you give to others.

Smell the grass and sip a flower.

Hold a cloud in your hand and dance in the moonlight.

Set your intentions with expanding radiance. Walk more often in the moss and let the moisture nourish your spirit.

Breathe deeply and let go of the worries several times a day. Find the edges of laughter and melt into the energy.

Change the dial from somber to fun.

Push aside the mountain of introspection and pull out a Calvin and Hobbes.

Listen to music where your heart often yearns to go.

Play the notes and tickle the ivory by the light of the moon’s glow.

Relax your shoulders in a deep, warm bath. Smell the air and float up through the trees.

Listen to the melody of the birds and the wind. Exchange your heart’s beat with a tickle of a feather.

I give you permission to let go and let be; into an imaginary personal oasis of setting yourself free.

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Ed: Bryonie Wise

{Photo: via Pinterest}