life stories: stretching moments

there are moments when stretching takes shape in daily rhythms, like the practice of yoga. where our muscles are stretched, awakened. there's a path that this stretching takes: releasing the muscles aids in bringing me fully into the present. being present to the stretching clears my mind and allows rest and recovery. i am who i am in that moment, fully alive, breathing deeply and sending peace and love through each stretch. (my blonde arm hair looks so, so hairy in this image...but it's really not so hairy...really)

there are other moments where the stretching takes a different shape. where the once stubborn resistance meets a moment of clarity, where reconciliation happens at table over wine, bread, local foods, and dessert shared. where the stretching isn't just about your muscles and mind, but about all the muscles, heart strings, and resistance meeting a letting go. there's a point in stretching where you must release. this stretch as pictured above reached across six years. yes. 6 years. it's one that was met with tears, thankfulness, and gratitude. there's a release where we are each fully present to the moment, even if the moment is a bit surreal at times. even if the moment is all that's known and the future unknown. it's a stretch that's proved to be good for all involved, where reconciliation, love, and gratitude will stretch on, reaching other relationships and providing the necessary spaces for life & healing, in self and others.

sometimes, always, it's a stretch for me to say: i was wrong. but sometimes, often, those stretches bring me fully into the present: binding my heart, mind, body, and soul.