For those afraid to fly...

~ Come fly with me ~

The process of writing becomes the realization of thoughts. They become tangible.

This morning I woke to the sound of the flight of our swan. I heard its flight and visualized this white giant, graceful bird skimming above the water. Later, standing on my deck a thought crossed my mind: how to experience this flight and how to share it? Let me walk you through the experience…we are going to fly!

It is early morning. The sun barely rises above the horizon warming our shoulders. Sunrays bathe the shore as we slowly, very slowly, in slow motion, immerse in the water. A light shiver runs up our spine. Skin goose bumps.

Feel the water rising up from ankles to knees and up our thighs. We are now up to our hips.  Naked, we enter the waters and experience total freedom. Now, slowly raise our arms laterally and stretch them above our heads as we make a few gentle flapping motions, as if we were preparing to "take off" with the airplane…not in it.

Do not resist, relax your muscles, breathe deeply, and exhale very slowly. Again breathe in deeply… exhale slowly as you run faster and faster matching your stride to the speed of the airplane. Suddenly you are off the ground. You are flying. You are not flying in the airplane, you are flying with it. Strive to become the airplane. As you raise above the water sense the water level glide down your hips… down your ankles… off your toes … and you are soaring.

As you glide above the water observe the tips of your wings spanning 7 feet. In slow motion slap the water faster and faster… pushing… lifting above the water, majestically flap your wings. Feel the power of the tips of your wings push off the water. As you fly, listen and feel the dull clapping sounds your wing tips make as they barely touch and push off the water… it is as if you were making push ups above the water.

Listen to the clapping reverberate off the water. It is the muffled sound of soft wings against the water. Imagine the sound of slowly whiplashing a bed sheet in slow, dream-like motion. Thump… thhump…thhhump…thhhhump…you are now the swan.

Alex Nodopaka Aug©2001-2005