Last weekend, while taking a Dave Oshana intensive class in Walpole, Maine, we went outside as a group to do some energy work in the form of exercises that are similar to tai chi. Dave found this spot near the ocean and he liked it even better when he discovered big, flat rocks down a steep bank that stretched off the shore into the ocean. A relatively easy place to go if you have two legs, but what I saw was the muddy downhill slope. Then a friend said, "Meg, these two guys will carry you down." Immediately a resistance arose in me as I shot back, "I don't think so."
My friend said, "If you don't go down, no one will be able to go down." My resistance got stronger and I felt angry as I answered, "Don't try to guilt me."
Then one of the guys who was going to help carry me said kindly, "Have you ever been carried?" I blankly said, "No," thinking, "Yes, my brother-in-law, Ed, carried me over some rocks to get me into a boat one summer at Cape Cod, because he really wanted me to be able to get into his boat ... and, I forever loved that he did this.) I wanted to entertain the idea, but my better sense (or my fear of bodily harm, or embarassment, or both) put up a barrier.
He said, "Let's make this an adventure." Suddenly, my guard went down and I thought, "Yes, he's right, I can make this is an adventure." Though I still wasn't quite sure how I was going to make it down the embankment, my attitude shifted. And, I was a bit more open to being carried. I trusted this person.
We keep walking (and crutching) along the banks, looking for a more accessible way to get down to the rocks. We checked out another opening in the brush leading down a steeper slope. It still looked pretty steep and muddy. We kept walking. Most of the group was walking parallel to us down on the rocks.
The man I was walking with briefly told me about his flight from Minnesota to Portland on Friday evening on his way to the intensive. His first flight arrived late and he missed his connecting flight to Portland. The option he was given was a flight to Portland the next day which would make him miss a whole day of a weekend event. He started getting frustrated, thinking that maybe he shouldn't have been going to the Oshana event at all. Then he calmed down and asked what the next option was. I can't remember exactly how the story went, but it wasn't much better than the first. As he took a breath, relaxed, and considered his options, another plan opened up. Someone had just canceled their direct flight, he was next in line and this flight which would get him into Portland at the same time he had planned on arriving, before the missed flight.
His story finished just as the wooded area we were walking through turned into an open path sloping gently downhill to the water. Very easily accessible to me on crutches. I joined the others on the flat rocks and proceeded to clear my energy.
Last weekend, while taking a Dave Oshana intensive class in Walpole, Maine, we went outside as a group to do some energy work in the form of exercises that are similar to tai chi. Dave found this spot near the ocean and he liked it even better when he discovered big, flat rocks down a steep bank that stretched off the shore into the ocean. A relatively easy place to go if you have two legs, but what I saw was the muddy downhill slope. Then a friend said, "Meg, these two guys will carry you down." Immediately a resistance arose in me as I shot back, "I don't think so."
My friend said, "If you don't go down, no one will be able to go down." My resistance got stronger and I felt angry as I answered, "Don't try to guilt me."
Then one of the guys who was going to help carry me said kindly, "Have you ever been carried?" I blankly said, "No," thinking, "Yes, my brother-in-law, Ed, carried me over some rocks to get me into a boat one summer at Cape Cod, because he really wanted me to be able to get into his boat ... and, I forever loved that he did this.) I wanted to entertain the idea, but my better sense (or my fear of bodily harm, or embarassment, or both) put up a barrier.
He said, "Let's make this an adventure." Suddenly, my guard went down and I thought, "Yes, he's right, I can make this is an adventure." Though I still wasn't quite sure how I was going to make it down the embankment, my attitude shifted. And, I was a bit more open to being carried. I trusted this person.
We keep walking (and crutching) along the banks, looking for a more accessible way to get down to the rocks. We checked out another opening in the brush leading down a steeper slope. It still looked pretty steep and muddy. We kept walking. Most of the group was walking parallel to us down on the rocks.
The man I was walking with briefly told me about his flight from Minnesota to Portland on Friday evening on his way to the intensive. His first flight arrived late and he missed his connecting flight to Portland. The option he was given was a flight to Portland the next day which would make him miss a whole day of a weekend event. He started getting frustrated, thinking that maybe he shouldn't have been going to the Oshana event at all. Then he calmed down and asked what the next option was. I can't remember exactly how the story went, but it wasn't much better than the first. As he took a breath, relaxed, and considered his options, another plan opened up. Someone had just canceled their direct flight, he was next in line and this flight which would get him into Portland at the same time he had planned on arriving, before the missed flight.
His story finished just as the wooded area we were walking through turned into an open path sloping gently downhill to the water. Very easily accessible to me on crutches. I joined the others on the flat rocks and proceeded to clear my energy.