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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About the Poet – 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

If you would like your writing to be considered for publication on PhoebeMD.com, visit here for information regarding submissions.

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