By Cynthia Cady Stanton | Featured Contributor

Each step forward seems a challenge…

There are rocks to dodge

and some of them with sharp edges.

Sometimes there is a soft landing

and the sweetness

of toes and heals being held.

This sweetness,

this softness,

lands right into my heart.

But going forward still

feels a chancy endeavor

as painful steps

cause careful navigation.

So I am on alert.

I watch intently for danger.

I don’t want to be wounded.

It is not a relaxing walk.

So the tension builds

in my anticipation of pain.

It kind of takes the joy away

of a walk on the beach.

I notice this –

and I bow to the awareness sparking.

And I stop.

I don’t want to proceed in the usual way.

I take a moment

to breathe in the surf spray.

I attend to the flow of the waves.

They are so peaceful

and effortless –

beautiful, really.

The music of it all

reaches the inner spaces in me –

the ones that need soothing.

I realize that

I need not take a painful path.

I can swim instead.

It has been a long time

since enjoying the grace and baptism

of cool water in the sunshine –

of surrendering to a larger support.

Walking on the rocks alone

is no longer the journey.

I choose to float instead

and learn the art and gift

of buoyancy.

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Cynthia Cady Stanton

Cynthia Cady Stanton is a hospice chaplain, writer, and speaker. In addition to being a regular contributor to PhoebeMD.com, her inspirational blog, Becoming and Beholding, can be described as “an exploration of a personal journey of awakening.” She is currently available to provide spiritual services and counseling to those in need.

Visit Cynthia’s Blog

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