Ice Fields
June 11th, 2008 . by tracyYears ago I flew in a helicopter over an ice field in Alaska. We landed, and as I descended the steps, I was awestruck. Not one foostep scarred the snow, not one trace of life but mine and my companions could be seen. Into my mind, four words came, repeating themselves over and over again: Only God lives here. Only God lives here… Yes, there are wild, untamed places…places not molded by man, that dwell in quiet beauty, without our help, our presence, our need.
As we flew back over the glacial ice, I pressed my forehead to the glass and looked down, still captivated and suddenly filled with yearning. Then, as though a curtain was pulled aside, a piece of the Mystery revealed itself and I understood…this wild, untamed land lives not only upon the earth, but inside each of us. In the silent still center of our being there is a place where only God resides…a field of pure potential and infinite possibility, untouchable by temporal tides, unchangeable by circumstance… untainted, indestructible, eternal and free.
To here you are called, in here you are Home…immersed in the recollection of who you are, emptied of all and filled with more.
How do you get there? You are always there. It only takes practice to awaken to it - the repeated act of becoming present and aware, of bearing witness to all that is, to what arises in each moment. Doing this is the challenge, but it too is much simpler than we try to make it.
Let the breath be a thread to guide you…connect to it, watch it rise and fall…close your eyes or gaze softly at a leaf, a flower, a child…feel the space within you expand. Allow your shoulders to fall, your tongue to drop from the roof of your mouth, your face to soften. Surrender into Now and find yourself dipped into center. Rest here. There is nothing you must do. But in so doing, Grace abounds.
If every human being on the planet would take just moments a day to connect to the “ice field” within, I truly believe it would change the world. So, let us serve in this way, let us do so knowing that when we find our own inner ice field, it is, in truth, a conduit to the center of all that is, to the place where we live in truth,beauty and wisdom, together.
Until next time…(be it upon the page, in person, or in the ice fields…)
Namaste.