the great Aloha spirit herself - Kati
Kati and I talk, ocean to ocean, twice a week. She is on Maui, and I am on Tybee Island and both of us are tenders of the water and in deep appreciation of Mama Ocean. Our connection with each other began with our having that in common.
Be that as it may, Kati just shared a story with me I will pass along because I think it is so representative of what we need to do and how we need to be to take advantage of this 'new world' we find ourselves in. To get free, to become free to be all of who we are, we have no option but to face our fears. ALL of our fears.
Ever since moving to Maui over a year ago, Kati has yearned to swim in proximity with dolphins. For whatever reason, it wasn't happening. Instead, the turtles came to her and she linked strongly with those magnificent beings. But then, it was time for something else.
This past week,Kati found herself on the beach with pounding surf and lots of lava rocks in the water, and she sees the fins out at sea on the other side. But how does she get to them? The surf is strong and the rocks are sharp. She wades in the water and is suffused with fear. Not small fear, but BIG fear. Everything in her wanted to join the dolphins, and everything in her was afraid of what would happen if she went into the pounding surf with the sharp rocks.
She took her time deciding what to do. She allowed herself to feel the presence of her fear standing next to her. She stayed with that presence, waiting for the moment of decision to happen, not knowing what it would be. And it did happen. She went into the water, got beyond the breakers and for the first time, got to share her beloved watery domain with its natural occupants, these dolphins. They swam in a pod a ways away from her but she could hear them when she put her head under the water. One dolphin veered off from the pod in her direction, not close enough to touch, but close enough to make connection on the level of supreme love and happiness in the moment. There was such completion for Kati in having this dream happen. It was just as thrilling as she knew it would be.
What if Kati had decided to not enter the sea? Would that have been failure? No, not at all, for, because she stood her ground and endured her fear, had she chosen to turn back, it would have been a common sense decision of being too dangerous to venture further. Standing her ground with her fear allowed her to assess if she could go forward towards having an experience she has yearned for, or not. When holding one's ground successfully, you do not know how the decision is made until you find yourself moving in one direction or another. There is a lot of mystery in this process.
These kinds of events are alchemical. You do not KNOW what to do until you stand with what you are feeling and just be with it long enough for the shift to the next place to happen. That is what Kati did, and one dolphin in particular seemed to say "thanks for letting yourself in."
Well done sea woman.
Be that as it may, Kati just shared a story with me I will pass along because I think it is so representative of what we need to do and how we need to be to take advantage of this 'new world' we find ourselves in. To get free, to become free to be all of who we are, we have no option but to face our fears. ALL of our fears.
Ever since moving to Maui over a year ago, Kati has yearned to swim in proximity with dolphins. For whatever reason, it wasn't happening. Instead, the turtles came to her and she linked strongly with those magnificent beings. But then, it was time for something else.
This past week,Kati found herself on the beach with pounding surf and lots of lava rocks in the water, and she sees the fins out at sea on the other side. But how does she get to them? The surf is strong and the rocks are sharp. She wades in the water and is suffused with fear. Not small fear, but BIG fear. Everything in her wanted to join the dolphins, and everything in her was afraid of what would happen if she went into the pounding surf with the sharp rocks.
She took her time deciding what to do. She allowed herself to feel the presence of her fear standing next to her. She stayed with that presence, waiting for the moment of decision to happen, not knowing what it would be. And it did happen. She went into the water, got beyond the breakers and for the first time, got to share her beloved watery domain with its natural occupants, these dolphins. They swam in a pod a ways away from her but she could hear them when she put her head under the water. One dolphin veered off from the pod in her direction, not close enough to touch, but close enough to make connection on the level of supreme love and happiness in the moment. There was such completion for Kati in having this dream happen. It was just as thrilling as she knew it would be.
What if Kati had decided to not enter the sea? Would that have been failure? No, not at all, for, because she stood her ground and endured her fear, had she chosen to turn back, it would have been a common sense decision of being too dangerous to venture further. Standing her ground with her fear allowed her to assess if she could go forward towards having an experience she has yearned for, or not. When holding one's ground successfully, you do not know how the decision is made until you find yourself moving in one direction or another. There is a lot of mystery in this process.
These kinds of events are alchemical. You do not KNOW what to do until you stand with what you are feeling and just be with it long enough for the shift to the next place to happen. That is what Kati did, and one dolphin in particular seemed to say "thanks for letting yourself in."
Well done sea woman.
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