Shutter Sisters

Touching Down

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Returning home after our 24 hours in Chicago

 

There are those moments that sweep us up from where we stand and carry us beyond where our normal motion might ever dare take us. Events when our feet leave the ground, our head in the clouds, with a lightness of feathers drifting with the wind of possibilities. In this state of being we allow ourselves to be led, up and down by the lofty elevation of circumstances we don’t have the time nor the desire to process.

 

I’m a pretty grounded person; feet firmly planted, taking great comfort in my well-established roots of routine and predictability. And still, I will move and sway, arms reached up like branches welcoming the movement of what the climate might bring. Although I much prefer a zephyr to a gale, one can’t control the weather. Nor predict it.

 

The last few days a nor’easter of chance has howled through my life leaving me feeling, among other things, displaced and disheveled. A swift force of nature uprooted me and yet the thrill of shifting, spinning and spiraling in such unstable conditions felt as invigorating as they did overwhelming. And so I let go.

 

As quickly as they came, the winds are dying down and I feel my feet once again touching the ground. I sense the sturdy, solid weight of my body settling in again, using the earth below me as my stability and my strength. I remind myself that below me is hallowed ground and I sink my roots back into the soft, earth. It welcomes me home again. I am altered, there is no doubt. But what remains is who I am and no winds of change can ever take that away.

 

How do you deal with sudden climate changes of your life? Are you open to being tossed about in the currents (good, bad or otherwise) or would you rather batten down the hatches and keep yourself firmly planted? If there is by chance a photograph that illustrates a symbol of your stance (or flight), I hope you choose to share it today.

Comments

  7. It is amazing how things can come along and lead you down a path you never expected! 11 years ago my husband gave me a JRT puppy when our oldest son left for college. She has lead me down a path I would have never traveled and without her I would never have gotten a book published! I do wish she had been able to get me on Oprah!!
    If you are open to change, it might just come along!
    http://pixels-n-pen.blogspot.com

  12. I’m typically a batten down the hatches kind of gal, but I suppose an exception could be made for Oprah!! I followed your links to read what all this was about, a freakin’ Oprah taping!! I think my routine could be interrupted a bit.

    But… when my life gets topsy turvy I am grounded by very literally – the ground. The soil, the goodness that grows from it, the fruits of the earth that sustain my family and our well being. A visit & pick up at our CSA, preparing a pot of soup, stocking the larder with local veggies, digging in my own garden. These things ground me.

    http://fimby.tougas.net/soul_restoration

  14. I am completely the type to initially resist anything that would shake up my life and test my comfort level. Of course, if it was Oprah I would get over it quickly. But generally I am not super spontaneous. I would like to change that though.

  17. Whoa, I can’t wait to find out more! Hang on to your hat!

    I’m not even sure how to answer your question. I struggled with years of uncertainty before my husband and I finally had the opportunity to become parents and it wasn’t easy. If we hadn’t been through the storm we wouldn’t have arrived in such a wonderful place. The photo that jumped to mind is of the minute before we met our baby girl for the first time. We hadn’t slept at all the night before and I look tired but excited. http://www.flickr.com/photos/31417716@N00/2785041346/in/set-72157606872591568/