View From The TreeTops
ReedRenderings
Phyllis Reed Author
"The beginning: She hears shouting interrupted by a tearful voice; she is small and she is frightened of something she cannot name. The room is dark and in the window a small faint sliver of the winter’s moon calls to her. It is not the last time that something in nature would soothe her, but it is the first she will remember. The noise in the house recedes into the background and the dreams of far away places fill her ears, her soul; her longing for a different kind of Life is borne.
The ending: She hears the murmur of the wind in the treetops; she is elderly some would say, but strong. She is no longer frightened by things unseen. She is thinking of the choices she will make today and knows they will support her Life in ways she could not have known when she was young. She becomes aware of a still silence that is both out in her room and deep within her. It reflects the peaceful feeling that comes to her with the old sun of a new day and triggers gratitude for the Life she has co-created with the Universal Energy by which she has been guided. Life has not always been pleasant nor has it always been difficult, and she has learned the secret of living each moment of Life as it arrives and just as it is."
I wrote these two paragraphs years ago; I am the child and I am the older woman who finds comfort in nature. My complete story, fictional or otherwise, has never been written as a novel. Instead I have chosen to write short vignettes of Life. These vignettes became my story and filled the spaces between my beginning and now. Even as I remind myself that I write better than I talk, I know it is time for me to trust my inner voice. Speaking outloud about what is important to me sometimes triggers the need to say too much too fast; triggered by the fear that what I say cannot be heard, my throat sometimes closes with emotion. Things are changing and I trust that my voice needs to be heard, at least by me, to co-create a world in which I want to live. My inner world is clearer and less demanding of perfection. Therefore, I believe my experiences are more easily understood by others. It is time to share my stories about my Life as both the small-frightened child and the wiser-aging woman. Life can be experienced only in the awareness of presence, and although these sharings are filled with memories from the past, my intention is to listen and to be guided by the inner collective wisdom of presence.
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