Lessons from the River
Women come to the river retreat for a variety of outward reasons – to find camaraderie, to have an adventure, to see new sights and try new things. But below the surface of their lives are the deeper reasons – to access self-love, to find clarity about who they are and where they’re going, to sink into acceptance for what is as they work with the challenges they face and the longings they have. This year for Summer Solstice, I had a true adventure with the women who showed up – and show up beautifully, as Goddesses, they did! Read on to hear the lessons from the river we received.
For the past 2 years we’ve had beautiful weather on the river which has contributed to the ease that we want to feel. Hot sunny Colorado days on the water and comfortable evenings to gather and share a slower pace have been our experience in ’07 and ’08. This year’s adventure brought a lot of diversity weather-wise – we saw it all in the span of 4 days: blazing sun, powerful winds, black skies lit up by a stunning show of lightning, and rain that soaked in moments. If you didn’t bring your flexibility with you, it could’ve been a disaster. But the women who came were ready – whether they knew it or not yet – to take on and flow with what we got.
Do you have stories that you live by? That have you confined in their familiarity and comfort but which no longer serve you in living your True Life? I think we all do. Taking time on a river journey gives you the opportunity to uncover some of those old stories and recognize there is a need for change. As we flow in the current there is the chance to let go… to feel and surrender to the greater flow around us. This is so easy to type on the page, but man, it is BIG to DO! Some of the stories we uncovered were about pleasing others instead of ourselves, noticing how we want so badly to fit in that we sometimes let go of who we really are. Others were about standing in a defensive mode, with our walls preventing us from really connecting authentically and there definitely were ones about the ways we push in life, trying to get things to work out the way we think they ought to – I call it Control Freak mode.
What I love is how the river brings us the lessons we need to receive. My own practice with this was a powerful experience of how to let go. On day 3, in a single kayak, I was trying to stay upright in the 30 mile/hr winds – no way was I going to flip in the chilly, practically white-capped river! The wind was so wild you could barely talk above it and I worked to force the bow of my little boat to head into the waves in order not to flip. But the boat had other ideas. No matter how hard I paddled, it would return to a sideways position – one any boat-minded person will know is the perfect place to flip from. I was caught or held you might say, between the downwind current which was steady and constant (the flow of abundance always present when we pay attention) and the headwinds that were pushing me upstream, clearly not where I wanted to go (the challenges and unexpected surprises that life will bring). The wind was so forceful, I had to lean into it to stay balanced. But it was erratic too, and it would subside some and if I wasn’t fully noticing what was happening in each moment, I could lean too far and flip the other way! So there was only one thing I could do – just sit there, with my paddle on my lap and surrender. It was one of the most, bodily-felt, uncomfortable experiences of my life. Palpable fear and yet so awake! Making the precise adjustments in my body weight to dance with that crazy wind. And so, even though it took me breaking up my story of controlling the situation, I let go. I surrendered. And lo and behold, I was ok. I was still actually moving downstream and I never flipped. I received the lesson, on a physical plane that I believe changes our cells and we find a new way of knowing from the experience.
Later in the trip, tired of trying to ‘control’ my hair, I put it into long braids, a la Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz. I had to crack up when I remembered the scene in the movie when the Wicked Witch writes with her broom in the sky ‘Surrender Dorothy’ – the perfect image for me to remember this metaphorical lesson in Letting Go!
The day after our adventure with the wind, and a rainstorm that will have to be another story but brought additional challenges and lessons for our little band of women, we rested – a well-deserved and delightful layover day – filled with bathing, body care, toenail painting for each other, tarot readings and a short hike to the spires that were our backdrop. We dined on salmon fettuccine and had chocolate fondue for dessert. That night, on the river’s edge, under a starry sky, we co-created a ceremony – our own ritual to lock in the experiences we had. There, each woman received her Goddess name – the perfect words to describe her unique and exquisite self – just where she is right now. I am so grateful to have called together these special women for such an unforgettable journey!
So what are your stories around abundance or not enough? Where do you get stuck, believing things that aren’t true, and yet as so easy to default to? The foundational teaching here is Consciousness. Being awake so that you can recognize when your behaviors are rote and based in an old past, not the current present and who you are/and are becoming now.
The first step of change is awareness – take a look to see what’s there. It’s like de-cluttering your inner closet – if it doesn’t fit you anymore, let it go. Commit to only wearing what lets your inner light shine. If you want to talk about how to shift old beliefs and turn them into powerful new ones that align with your True Self, contact me. I’m here to support you in creating a life of ease and flow.
Coach Victoria
(970)259-9040
Victoria@truelifecoach.net
