Terra Firma

terra firma [ˈfɜːmə]

n

the solid earth; firm ground

[from Latin]

Last weekend I went to Boston to visit my brother. On the way back, the plane I was on flew through a thunderstorm. Most of the trip was bumpy but managable. The collective mood of the passengers was light hearted and we all made the best of a
 turbulant situation. About 45 minutes before we were to land the captain came on the intercom to announce that up until that point our flight had been a moderate one. He told us the rest of the flight would be .... well to paraphrase... he told us to go to the bathroom if we had to as fast as we could and then buckle up and prepare for a seriously bumpy ride.

I was a bit freaked...I won't lie. But I thought I would be fine. I had been chanting my preferred Sanskrit mantra in my head and continued to do so. I would just pretend I was on a roller coaster and concentrate on the mantra.Within 15 minutes we were in the thick of it. My mind, chanting away,was surprised to learn that it could multitask. In addition to chanting it was also watching the passengers in the front of the plane bouncing around...up and down...back and forth, all the while gathering the necessary data of recent situations (odd and miraculous forgiveness and leaps of faith with  uncharacteristic happiness ) so that by the time we hit an air pocket that left us free falling and most of us shrieking, my mind's conclusion was inevitable....we were going to die.

Once that was cleared up things really came into focus and I started to realise I had very little left I felt I needed to do. I ... for the first time....felt pretty good about how things were in my life. I certainly had no regrets about leaving my job or wearing the same shirt two days in a row or even how much
money was in my bank account. Also, a lot of things that had for years felt unresolved had just recently been healed and resolved. In the whole of my life I had only two regrets. One of them was that I didn't have the chance to see Creative Nectar really serve her purpose and I didn't get to paint with nearly enough people. It was hard to fully understand that one. I had felt so strongly that starting Creative Nectar Studio with Jen and process painting with as many people as possible was my purpose. It didn't make any sense.

Neeedless to say we landed safely. The next day every muscle in my body hurt from the uncontrollable shaking, but I was alive. I now know even more than ever that I am living my life on purpose and I have more time to paint with as many people as possible. I am grinning from ear to ear and pleased beyond words to be back on terra firma.

"Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you are still alive,it isn't."
 - Richard Bach (Illusions)

In Gratitude,
Steph