Lifted From the Ashes

Woke up to ash covering everything the other day.

What did this mean for a new life here?

Am I flying too close to the sun, melting my wings, crashing and burning?

Or will I rise from the ashes like the phoenix in glory?

Today, we can breathe again, we can see again.

Lifted from the ashes, at least for now.

I realize the surrender inherent in this,

To be ok with waking up to whatever is.

Allowing the feelings of fear of the unknown, and hope and promise,

To swell and quell, ebb and flow.

All part of earth’s journey, of the human journey.

Experiencing the intertwining of it all this close,

To touch, see, smell, taste, and hear it all in real time.

Am I ready to be fully alive and human,

In all its smokiness, its ashiness, its fieriness, its power?

In all its clarity, its expansiveness, its creativity, its abundance?

Am I ready to surrender to the earth’s rhythms, to the beat of the fully alive human heart?

I sense that I am.

Standing on the precipice of the mountain,

Surveying the contours above, below, and within.

Touching, as I listen to my own heart as part of the whole rhythm,

A deeper sense of belonging and knowing.

Feeling closer to freedom even in the perils of jumping.

Of flying, of surrendering, of opening my wings even if they get burned.

From a place of deep knowing that I will always rise from the ashes,

No matter what form I may take next.