Just Pause…
It reminded me of being in a gigantic aquarium. You gawk through the glass at the other side. And whatever creature you are staring at, they show no acknowledgement to your undivided attention in return. They just float by, unaware to your perusing. I was sitting in the airport in Seattle looking through a huge sheet of glass. I became fixated to the world on the other side on mine.
The busyness of air traffic caught my eye immediately. The airport personnel drove luggage carts and concession trucks. Lights flickered on the aircraft. Planes rolled down taxiways to either make an exit into the clouds, or to pull up to a designated gate allowing masses of strangers to disembark. These passengers would soon enter the world where I was sitting. They were faces of unfamiliarity. There were those who appeared tired, some who smiled, and others who were just indifferent as they entered the terminal. I was curious about where they were heading. Where did they come from? What did they consider to be their biggest blessings in life? What were their curses? What strengths about themselves would they claim? What struggles did they need to own? They, too, floated by with their baggage trailing behind them, or totting cargo slung across their backs.
And, I paused… A few weeks ago, I had the tremendous privilege of visiting the Pacific Northwest, and that on two separate occasions commuting back and forth from home. I wish I could be an artist painting his masterpiece upon an easel because of the scenery I surveyed. On those trips, I saw vivid terrain: lush greenery upon rolling hills; pastel colors of wildflowers poking through the earth’s skin; white blossoms hanging on trees ready to explode into new life. There was the rushing Columbia River that accompanied us, always on our left. Or, those cascading waterfalls that surprised us at every curve, pouring down crevices embedded within slabs of stone.
The past couple of months I have been writing blogs pertaining to segments of my life story. I’ve entitled it the Segue Series because life is a string of transitions that weave in and out of our existences. Needless to say, writing these tidbits has been an extraordinary process. I have not only described them in ink. I have relived them in heart and in soul. And frequently, I have had mental collisions with writer’s block along the way. Either, this is due to my striving to make things absolutely perfect, or it is the emotional content of regurgitating a life lived that becomes overwhelming because you discover cobwebs that linger in places you didn’t notice. Perhaps, it is a combination of the two.
I have been encouraged through listening and dialoguing with friends to simply…write. So, this is my first post where I am not worried about getting it right – grammatically, or in use of vocabulary (ok, maybe a little). I am quite positive there are many mistakes in this entry, and even in my previous entries. No doubt. Yet, I wonder what would happen if I allowed my mind to drift to explore ideas and concepts in an uninhibited fashion. What would occur if I just write and put the brush to the easel? Would my writings be even more polished, colorful, and clear without my obsession to make it rhythmic, or to flow in that precise manner. I wouldn’t be surprised if the continuance of my Segue Series would be more impactful, poignant without any unnecessary effort I attribute to it. After all, every entry I have posted thus far has been at least a nine hour process.
Just pause… There are things that float by me everyday. My focus is elsewhere when all along the beauty of things unseen is staring back at me. Worlds always collide. And, I can easily miss their intermingling. How about you?
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