I had plans to do so with a friend, but dammit all, she had the temerity to get herself killed in a motorcycle accident before we could execute the plan.
She was quite an inspiration in my life and I was just never able to bring myself to do the skydiving thing without her. And then in my late 30s, my chiropractor asked me, “Do you ski?” I said No. And he said, “Good. Don’t take it up.” And then I said, “I suppose that means skydiving is out too.”
The look on his face. Apparently, he was terrified of flying. You would have thought I’d suggested he remove a testicle or something. “Oh, God, no. No. No skydiving.”
And so, it’s a want that will forever be unfulfilled and I find myself mourning the loss. How many other I alwayswanted tos am I not going to be able to do?
The West Virginia Writers annual conference, always in June, always at Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley, WV is one of the writing world’s best-kept secrets. Where else can you see a lineup like this (including me!) for $125 for members and $150 for nonmembers. Lodging, on-site, is reasonable as is the cafeteria food plan. You can give yourself a stellar writing retreat for not much moola! Info here.
West Virginia Writers, like the people of West Virginia, are very welcoming. You needn’t worry about coming alone, you will leave with friends. Find your writing tribe in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.
Today, I will be The April Fool and declare a new beginning. The winter of my discontent is over. Has to be over. I am weary of trudging and want to skip. Tired of standing, want to dance. Sick of worry, want to be fearless.
Today is that day.
The Fool from the Robin Wood Tarot
I will let the high winds of today clean out the debris and clear my head of the toxic build-up of the past years. The rains will clear the dust. Spring cleaning of a sort – more like a pressure wash with the torrents of late.
I will let my little dog frolic as I skip along and ignore her yelps when she warns me of the cliff. I need to fall off this cliff I’ve been perched on like some hermit sitting on a mountain. I am the seeker; I am not the teacher. The sage. The prophet.
The waterlogged hillside may collapse spilling me onto a road I’ve never been on. The change might do me good. Another meaning for winning by a landslide.
I may have to skip through some mud. My inner child will be delighted to splash in the puddles. I’ll get dirty. A hot bath will be a solace. I will be weary and sleep the sleep of the innocent. I will.
The future is bright, my outlook is rosy, and I’m determined to make it so. As it is written, so let it be done.
On the wings of a snow white dove, let your heart soar and glide through life like water over rocks filling a lagoon of blue tranquil peace and serendipity. Take a moment to pick up the universal phone and call in your order of good wishes and a bright future. Embrace it all.
Let the sun shine warm on your back as you cross the rocks to step into the azure water where coral wafts and waves, colorful fish weave infinity in the shallows, and the Creator gleams in pride at all that emerged from the primordial nothing of the Zen mind.
On the wings of a snow white dove, spread love and joy. We are not broken, we are perfect and whole — in tune with the frog percussion. and the trill of songbirds in the canopy of majestic trees – the ancient beings.
Love west to the mountains, east to the ocean, north to the colorful lights and south to the equator. Revel in all you’ve been given.
On our deathbed, we will all long to do it again. Everyone has. Everyone does. Everyone will.
It’s a potluck, a smorgasbord, a feast of such intensity that we can be blinded by it. Don’t. Keep your eyes open, put on the rose-colored glasses, and sally forth in harmony with your neighbor, with your enemy, with that person you don’t know. Love one another as I have loved you.
The desiderata – you are a child of the universe – oh, yes, I am. Born of stardust and the creative energy of millennia. I am. I will.
It’s what makes us human but long for creature comforts. We are sentient, but we are also just one of many life forms. Let us all live together as we forage our way as hunters and gathers of love to our inevitable transformation back to stardust and creative energy.
On the wings of a snow white dove, let us inspire those who come after us to fix the damage we cause and to enjoy the perfection of life in balance.
W. Va. Fur and Root 