Energy.
I went to a place where I’d not been before. It was out farther on the edge and since then I’ve been different. Changed somehow.
A friend says “It’s all energy” and I am coming to an organic, intuitive, understanding of this. Energy is both in us and surrounding us and is as responsible for our lives as breath. After I paid a visit to that edge space I brought back with me an enlivened sense, an awareness, of it.
This energy is related to the periodic surges we feel when we tap into its flow. “I feel energized” we say as it courses through our bodies or our minds but perhaps rather than it entering us, we have stepped into its flow which surrounds us every moment, the “us” or “I” dropping away as we blend into energy’s constantly moving presence.
Best of all is when our energies merge with others. A recent phone conversation with a far distant friend soared. I felt the expansion of my being, my alignment changing as our words flowed, the conversation becoming a mode of transportation. Of being.
The language of water describes this energy. A river, a stream, the ocean each having currents. Electricity is a current. Is our own human energy not a current as well? And in our finest moments don’t we merge with the currents of others? A day spent exploring with friends, the moments flowing together, spontaneity governing movement with ease and grace. Why do we struggle for language to describe such an incredible, yet ordinary, experience?
Isn’t the image of sunlight dancing on sparkling water a perfect description of such energetic joy? Aren’t the vocabularies we use for water and air also those which describe our beings and our lives:? Such words as Erosion, Flood, Groundwater, Infiltration, Meander, Rapids, Riparian, Ripple, Surface Tension, Watershed can straightforwardly describe scientific, specific, conditions involving water yet when used to describe our lives their meanings acquire added depth. A “watershed” moment describes visiting new psychological territory brought on by illness which took me past an edge I’d not known was there.
See: New Hampshire Volunteer River Assessment Program. River Glossary.
https://www.des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/publications/wd/documents/vrap_glossary.pdf
The Marginal Way 
Deeply true and beautifully said. You are so very impressive!
LikeLike
I read this post with Wonder and then some distress as it appears you may have been very ill. Is this true? I hope you are well and I have been thinking about you. Thank you for pushing open doors for me.
LikeLike
I had pneumonia in March and was not as ill as might be implicated in this post although the process allowed a glimpse of…..something. It’s not the first time a seemingly probable relationship of experience and meaning seem disproportional. It’s also odd how language, at least mine, sometimes fails an experience. My intent was not to cause distress but thank you for that.
LikeLike
Your insightful language captures some things and your amazing images, others. I look forward to these wonderful posts each week. I’m glad the pneumonia is long gone, and I feel lucky to be able to engage with your way of making meaning — beautiful writing and stunning pictures — from these edges.
LikeLike