Blue Heron Visions: arrival

This manuscript is both a memoir of sorts and a work of fiction. The stories and events included are based on my life experiences and memories but I have changed names, details, event sequences, and outcomes throughout the work.

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Epilogue: D.O.A. (Delight on Arrival)

Spring was almost a week old. This year the season seemed to want to show up on time, and the weather was unseasonably warm for the end of March. Elizabeth had been rejoicing and embracing the new season as it unfolded day by day. She found herself awakening earlier each morning, looking forward to being outside and enjoying the pleasures of the day.

This morning, Elizabeth had arisen with Vincent and sent him off to work before the sun was fully up. That was not unusual, but usually she would return to bed so she could sleep a few more hours. But today she had stayed up. She had already written her morning pages, posted her mandala, checked her emails, and was busy preparing her breakfast. She had been amazed at all the energy she seemed to have discovered now that spring was making itself felt.

Finishing her breakfast, she decided to take a few moments to sit as she was accustomed to do now. She positioned herself in her “sitting” chair and focused on her breathing. She noticed that her thoughts were anticipating the day. Since she had been practicing her sitting time more diligently, she found she was able to bring her focus back to her breathing more easily. At one point, though, she began to feel that she really needed to get going, that it was time for her to get outside. She continued the refocusing process, but this feeling emanating from inside of her would not be refocused. Finally, she couldn't ignore the feeling any longer and prepared herself to greet the day. Because of the warmer weather, she wouldn't need to put on the many winter layers and her heavy coat, and she was ready to leave in just a few minutes.

As Elizabeth stepped outside of the apartment building, she breathed in the still chilly but fresh spring air. She smiled as she thought, “Unseasonably warm doesn't mean warm; it just means warmer than it normally would be at this time of the year.” She stood on the step and looked around.

Elizabeth noticed that almost all of the trees were still in hibernation mode with their dark stick-like branches and no greenery in sight. Any leaves that clung to the trees and brushes were last year's memories, brown and lifeless, not realizing that they were supposed to have let go of the tree or bush in the autumn or at least during the winter snows. Elizabeth thought how like her those leaves were. She, too, clung to memories, not letting go of the old feelings and the interpretations she had assigned to past experiences. She noticed, once again, how the world was being her mirror, showing her what she needed to see so she could remember who she really was and live her life more fully, flowing in the magic of Life, Love, All That Is.

Elizabeth turned to begin her walk and she heard a sound, a sound she hadn't heard in quite a while. She listened carefully and off in the distance she heard the faint cries of birds. She felt her excitement mount as the cries got louder and louder. She scanned the sky and soon she saw them: a flock of geese forming a perfect V stretching out in the deep blue of the spring sky, calling out to encourage one another, knowing that they soon would be home to begin the cycle of rebirth and renewal.

The joy and delight she felt at being given the opportunity to see her old friends' arrival was indescribable. As she continued to watch their flight, Elizabeth noticed that the point of the flock's V in the sky seemed to be aiming toward her. She felt as if their cries included her, encouraging her to understand the message they were bringing that she, like them, had always been and would always be in the eternal flow of magic. No search was necessary; for like Rumi's necklace, the magic she sought was already where she stood, where she lived, where she was. All she had to do was open her heart, embrace all of Life, and let the magic flow.

Elizabeth watched until she could no longer see the geese. She wished them well and hoped that she would see them depart in the fall. Nevertheless, she knew as she stepped onto the sidewalk, her “pieces of magic” days were behind her. Along with the flock of wild geese on the wing, a new awareness of the flow of magic had arrived, bringing with it a new cycle of rebirth and renewal for her life journey and an anticipation of new experiences and delights.