Standing nude before the bathroom mirror I stretch, raising arms, hands, and fingers towards heaven. Rotating my shoulders back I feel a sensation of ease leading to relaxation of muscles tightened from the days never ending anxieties of the man-made world I live in.
I look upon my outstretched limbs and marvel at the beauty of my flesh. I feel oneness with myself. I am still in one divine piece after all these years. All me, all organic, free range, and tone to the bone. No artificial implants for this beautiful mocha physique.
I close my eyes, listening and immersed in the moment. It’s quiet. My cell phone is turned off, there is no landline phone in my bedroom, and the television is not on. There’s just me and Grey, my cat, here in front of the mirror; checking ourselves out.
Why does stretching feel so good all the time…whether morning, noon, or night. Our bodies appreciate the extended release of internal inconsistencies irrelevant to our spirits. Tensions are purged and our body unwinds into a short sweet blissful aha moment that feels much like heaven on earth.
I think about stretching past the good, bad, and ugly to the meaningful. Life is a stretch that requires the concentration of a yoga master. What exactly does it mean to enjoy life abundantly unless you extend and stretch past Maslow’s basic needs?
My passion, for writing, continuously eats at me. I pick it up and put it down. I wish, and then realistically put myself in check. I must make it happen. I must stretch if I am to conceive what burns within me. The incubation period has been far too long.
I stretch my thighs as I kneel down in prayer, giving thanks to the Almighty. Tension leaves my neck because of a pouring out, a cleansing brought about by prayer.
I am at the beauty shop under a hair dryer, writing, hearing the slap of dominoes, as hot air blows upon my head, over my ears, out among others waiting for the opportunity to sit in this spot. Feet tap anxiously, phones and cell phones ring, water runs, and voices join in the throng of endless gossip and reverie. Women flip through magazines looking for a style that will refresh their look and make them feel like someone else. I sit here stretching, looking, and soaking everything in as I compose. All the while knowing each moment is precious. I may see you next week, I may not.
My life has never been ordinary, but it’s not extraordinary either. Ordinary doesn’t compute with my personality. By no stretch of the imagination am I ordinary. People have always thought me different, a rebel, a non-conformist, never following the herd, dancing to the beat of a different drum, never holding in, communicating, not taking sides, seeing both sides, standing strong, believing in truth, accepting responsibility, not happy with the status quo, idealist, realist, cutting to the chaste, and convicted by one thing – the truth. No situational ethics for me.
I’m stretching, reaching, and fueling my engine as I get ready to roll my way over the top of this hill to the next plateau.
We all have hills to climb. Hills are dynamic – they shift and sometimes crumble to the ground, like when an earth quake occurs. What use to be there is changed until the next wave of natural catastrophes blow our minds. Like when ants build a mound and a lawn mower, foot, or drenching rain destroys it. The ant stretches and rebuilds.
Human hills can be environmental, man-made, self-imposed, and in many cases; just plain stupid. The San Francisco earth quake changed a lot of peoples’ lives. The housing bubble was man-made, dripping with greed, and almost caused all of us to go under. A person buying a home they can’t afford was underlined with lack of education and a self-imposed disaster and wake-up call. Thinking you don’t need to keep learning is just plain stupid.
And just when you think you can take your foot off the brake and coast a while the unexpected happens and you must stretch to get through it. Most thinking people are always reassessing life as they know it. To keep moving forward takes a lot of stretching, will power, courage, commitment, and persistence. Who knows if they’ll make it to their dream state, that special state of mind that says well done; now I can relax? After all, it’s all about the journey…isn’t it?
I watch the circular motion of a fan rotating hot air. It reminds me of a little mouse running around and around a circular wheel going nowhere, its energy expelled in fruitless activity. Life can be like that, a rat race with oneself. I stretch and realize that at this particular moment I’m not sleeping, eating, regretting, or preparing, or thinking about tomorrow. I’m here now, composing, stretching my mind and knowing all I have is now so why not make use of it.
I feel the smoothness of my relaxed hair upon my sane head and I am aware my body has stretched again. Each movement is a stretch, but in which direction? Moving forward through life is a stretch. It takes nothing to move backwards, or stay put, but stretching takes effort.
Learning fuels each and every part of me, giving me energy that enables each step to get wider until I run, then soar like an eagle.
I am a late bloomer, although I’ve always known this is not as good as it gets. It’s as good as we want it to be. I’m bored with the status quo. I want to refurbish my life. The reinvention of me is one stretch that shouldn’t take too much effort. I’m a chameleon – adaptable.
Even someone born with a silver spoon in their mouth has to stretch to become someone other than the money inherited.
Spirituality is a stretch in the right direction or the wrong direction. It depends on who or what you worship. Straight is the gate and narrow is the path that leads to unbelievable relaxation into the arms of the one who knows me best. I’m always stretching in His direction.
Christ stretched on the cross, with arms open wide, giving up his physical body, becoming transparent, and then he embraced the world with his love before returning to the Father.
Why must I stretch? Why must I look beyond…into the unknown? Why can’t I be content with what is before me, what I can see and feel, what I already know? I’m never satisfied with what is as I stretch to what will be. I just have to be me. It’s in me is all I can say. I was made this way.
I stretch to stay focused on the moment at hand, but can’t help thinking about the future. What must I do next to stay afloat, to take care of myself, to ward off the tax man, the axe man, stock market manipulators, back stabbers, and a host of demons lurking around the corner waiting to pounce? I desperately seek a higher ground, a higher purpose; away from ego and its protections. My mission is awareness of life in the present as I rest totally on my faith and guarded by my divine hedge of protection.
Bending over backwards is unnecessary. I can lean into the light…to stretch.
Are you stretching?
bevsangle 