About

Why I Do This Work

As a young girl (of maybe 10, or maybe 12), I clearly remember running down the hiking trail with the children, happily and gracefully leaping bolder to bolder, far ahead of the adults. The crisp Fall air and independence was thrilling. We were like deer running through the woods.

As we dropped from the high vistas down into the depths of the young redwood forrest, late afternoon light dancing upon the trees; at some point, I would just STOP.

The other children paid no mind to this, their footprints echoing onward into the distance. The adults, with their adult conversations, were too far behind to be heard. But, what I could hear was the strong beat of my heart, the sound of my rapid breath (which I would begin to slow, and even hold still), and the loud hum in my ears of absolute SILENCE.

I saw, with my eyes, the way the early evening light hit just one side of each baby redwood tree, the trees so utterly still, so tall between Earth and sky. And, I felt, in my body, the weight, heat and light burn of my feet on the Earth, the movement of energy throughout my body, the warmth of gratitude arising in my heart.

Within this inward bow of gratitude, I would say to myself, "This must be God. This must be what Life is about." And, just then, in the instant I wanted to grasp this tight and hold on, I would hear the distant murmurs and laughter of adult voices moving near. And I would take off, running and bounding down the trail, to catch up with the children.

Now in mid-life, I deeply appreciate the inner wisdom of that child who has grown into this adult. From my personal experience, and from what I've witnessed in clients and fellow meditation practitioners on the path, there seems to be a natural human inclination to know life intimately, to remember our belonging to this world, to grow, to heal, to share our gifts, and to be fully alive within the beauty and mystery of this human experience.

I do this work as an expression of my own being's natural inclination to stay wakeful and open, to be touched by life, to honor beauty, to protect life, and to act from care– to use this short, precious time on earth to be a part of the healing. It is an honor to walk beside my clients and students as a witness on their journey of walking their path.

May all Beings know courage, belonging, steadiness, resilience and peace.