Come to my quite place...

Welcome to my quite place. To get here, you first quite your mind. Let your thoughts drift and ebb as they feel the need but don't focus on them or let them distract you.

Take a deep breath. Hold it for a second and relish the freshness of the air, the clarity it brings, and the life it sustains, then release it back into the world. Breathe easy and calm.

As you take the first step notice the rough texture of the rough-hewn limestone stairway as it leads up through the misty jungle. Notice the effort of each step and coolness of the stairs as they press into your feet. Make solid contact with each one, knowing and understanding exactly where you are at all times before taking the next.

Your mind stills and a sense of awe dawns as you reach the canopy and view the expanse of nature that spreads out for miles around you. Above your head, falcons dance on the breeze. Below your feet, jaguars pad through the soft undergrowth.

Welcome to the middle world, the place between places. Its beauty is awe inspiring but can also be distracting. Let it fill your senses and give you hope, but don't stop here. You're only half-way there.

You return to the stairs and notice that they're getting steeper. Each step requires a little more effort but propels you higher and higher along your way. You break into a warm sweat, feeling the gentle strain as your muscles lift you nearly to the top.

As you go higher, a cool mist settles in, shrouding your path and unsettling your mind. You start to drift and a twinge of fear creeps in as you wonder how painful a fall would be. Don't get distracted. Now is the crucial point. You're almost there, so stay focused on the path. Feel the smooth rock under your feet and against your palms as you hug the steeply inclined stairway.

Eventually you reach a point where you can get no further. You're right below the top but you can't quite reach the edge to pull yourself up. Just then, a hand is lowered over the edge. You grasp their forearm and together you haul yourself up, over the edge, and onto a plateau atop the mountain.

As you breathe deeply and recover your senses you notice that the whole world is stretched out below you. Cities and forests, oceans and deserts all spread out for you to observe. Behind you stands an ancient building. People are coming and going through it doors.

"It's not time yet for that", the person who helped you states. "You just needed a little perspective. Come back later and you can go there." You wonder how you are going to get down, but then notice people actually jumping over the edge! Warily you walk up to the side and look over. All you can see is people disappearing through the clouds.

Fearfully, you look back at the spot where you climbed over the edge and then back at the person standing behind you. "Go ahead," they say. "It won't hurt... much" They say with a laugh. Then, uncertainly you step to the edge and lean out ever so slowly, until gravity takes it's hold on you and pulls you over the side.

The first thing you notice is the sound of the air as it swooshes past, and coolness of the cloudy mist as it condenses on your skin. Eventually you break through the clouds and free fall into the open sky. Turning over you start to roll in the sky. First to one side, then to the next. After a bit you start doing somersaults and actually laugh at the feeling.

Then you notice the jungle canopy coming at you rather quickly. Sensing your impending doom, you tense... Then, knowing you have not control over what's going to happen next, you relax fully and completely and still your mind in preparation for your collision with the earth.

Suddenly you're whipping through the canopy. Leaves and branches swish past your arms and face. One second you break through and the next you hit the spongy undergrowth. You hit the peat with a thud and a cloud of dust rises around you.

Blinking your eyes in amazement, you peer around and take a deep breath. You're back where you started... only this time, you're different. For one thing, you're surprised to be alive. For another, you notice that everything has changed ever so slightly. Maybe it's just your perception, but everything simply glows with life.

Welcome back. You can come here any time. :)
Maddy