the dragonfly

this is a mini memoir that i wrote a few months ago, enjoy :)

---------

Words only trace the edges of my essence yet the art of writing is a beautiful one. My intention is that this collection of vocabulary will leave you changed.

Have you ever experienced a moment so profound that it stretched the fabric of time, have you ever felt so connected to the ground beneath your feet and the stars above your head that everything seemed to stop, creation paused and the only thing you knew was the heart beating in your chest and the air moving through your lungs.

Have you ever felt eternity?

I have, many times, and these glimpses of love, these pockets of now, have shaped me in ways beyond description. They have cracked me open and brought an awe into my days that is  comparable to that of a child seeing a rainbow for the first time.

I'm going to tell you about one such moment, this story is about a dragonfly.

There's a trail in my backyard, it's only about a quarter mile and it wraps around a small field on the right filled with pokeweed, queen anns lace, tall grass and other native plants. At the start of the trail there is a big walnut tree whose roots protrude from the earth. One thick root that stretches the width of my heel to my toes and seven feet across jags like a serpent indicating the opening of the trail. I call this root my starting line, a portal that marks the initiation of the journey I embark on. Trees are scattered on both sides of the passage and songbirds chirp from the shelter of their branches. There are maple, sassafras, oak, beech, and countless more species, both sapling and mature. The ground changes as the trail progresses, it starts off grassy, then turns mossy, then it gets hard and dry until it bridges the loop by returning to green grass. There are two mulberry trees upon the trail and berry bushes that produce fruit when in season, gifting us with wonderful jam. I walk this trail barefoot every day. When I walk, I slow down, I consciously choose to be present and notice each leaf and scent that accompanies me. I turn down the noise of industrialization and reconnect with the wild. Ant hills are dispersed throughout the land and vines weave between the trees. There are a trinity of spots along the trail where the sun reaches the soil best, and at each one, I pause, I linger for a minute or two, soaking up the beams and feeling the warmth they share. The whole forest feels connected, like one organism that moves in sync with itself.

Unbeknownst to me a scarlet odonate zipped through this ambience, kissing my aura and preparing a mystical surprise for me.

The day of the dragonfly was like any other, there was no substance to it other than the miracle of opening my eyes that morning. 

I began my daily communion with mother earth that day. Standing on my starting line, I breathed in, feeling roots extend from the bottoms of my feet just like the rhizome of vegetation that surrounded me. Connecting with the heart of this celestial body.

Taking my first step forward, unaware of the magic that would proceed, I strolled along the path. I passed over the grass listening to the orchestra of bugs and squirrels being conducted around me. The soles of my feet establishing an intimate relationship with the electrons rising from below. The wind was gentle and there were a few clouds that designed the sky with patterns of precipitation. As I completed the grass section I landed at my first sun spot and rested there. A deep peace filled my soul and everything felt so easy, all that was required of me was being, the essence of my presence was sufficient. There was no rush, nothing to do, no thoughts to think, just the simple joy of existing.

After a few moments of stillness in bliss, I continued on, moving within the shade, beneath the canopy of the wood and upon the velvety moss until I reached the second container of sun. I adore the feeling of the moss between my toes and the way it feels softer after a rainfall. With the train of thought at a halt, I was able to truly witness the serene enchantment of the ecosystem that enveloped me. At this stop, the view of the meadow is highlighted. Like a film before me, I watch the bees spread abundance, the butterflies float on the flowers and the grand symphony of nature unfolding with cosmic composition. I feel my part in this divine dance and resonate as a piece of this vast web of energy. With the garden laid before me, I feel the veil of separation dissolve and all of creation merge into one harmonious chorus, one coherent note, one original song. In this sanctum of chlorophyll and oxygen there is no struggle, no division, no mind. 

There is only The One, an infinite invisible force that guides and loves all beings unconditionally through life, death, and re-birth. The presence of spirit.

Advancing on my trek, the terrain shifted once more, the green replaced with stones and dirt. Grain particles so tightly packed that it could be mistaken for concrete. Wandering through this atmosphere I could feel the trees leaning in, the dense, clay-like soil kindly supporting the weight of my body and the air itself shimmering. 

With space singing, I arrived at my final solar patch.

Ambling through this light in a meditative state, a red dragonfly lands on a leaf off to my left. I was brought to a standstill by a force that transcends the confines of language. Every atom seemed to turn my way and source itself paused, eternity had been revealed. 

Approaching the insect with reverence, I extended my hand in its direction. At first there was stagnation and so I moved my palm a few inches closer and as I did, the dragonfly departed from its leaf and settled on me, accepting my invitation. 

In that moment we became one. 

The connection and unity cultivating itself within my heart was now expressing itself outwardly through the presence of this little being. Together, we simply were. The breeze gently stroking my skin and caressing its wings, the sun’s rays nourishing each cell within us, and the subliminal nature of the earth herself, all present, in the now. 

As I looked into the critters' eyes, I recognized myself in them. The same watcher that I am is the same observer within that crimson creature. Beyond duality, ego, and form, pure awareness was disclosed. The bug looked back at me, as if acknowledging this same truth, and in this moment of perception, I felt it, I embodied it, I lived it.

The One.

Standing there, bug in hand, examining the intricate weaving of its wings, I witnessed the mastery of god. Within the fine lines and shapes, I appreciated the artwork of a greater intelligence. The same entity that pumps blood through my form, changes the seasons, and shines the stars is the same architect of those fragile flight enablers. Each strand of DNA  carefully woven to craft the thorax, eyes, abdomen, antenna, and wings of this ruby species. All of it, part of something immeasurable.

The I am presence, The One expressing itself uniquely through many.

…

Dragonflies hatch from the egg as larvae. They have gills and spend the majority of their life growing and molting beneath the surface of freshwater, until one day they leave the only home they've ever known. They crawl up onto a stick or leaf and within a matter of hours, the sun catalyzes their cells, they split open their exoskeleton and they emerge. Fully transformed, the once nymph, has now become an agile, airborne adult, with fully developed lungs. 

This creature's journey from aquatic to aerial is deeply symbolic.

It is a voyage through the depths of forgetting, of stumbling, failing, and numbing, of living a life underwater, never truly grasping just how blind you are to the realm up above. Until something awakens, a shift commences and a rite of passage begins. Healing initiates, illusions are overcome, old patterns are shed and a breadth of possibilities await. 

Now you have wings and there are no limits to the heights you will soar.

Boundless potential pulses from your field.

A whole new world is here for you to cherish and there's not a moment to waste. 

It's important for you to know that I haven't always had this frame of reference. I have faced significant darkness in my past that became the fuel for my light. In the same way the dragonfly would not fly without first swimming, I would not be this beautiful without my pain. I wanted to note this so that it is understood that my state of vitality is not something that was handed to me. My consciousness is something that I cultivated and tended to through years of healing, meditation, and care, akin to the progress and evolution that takes place beneath the waves. This perspective that I have attained is something that I worked hard to manifest and one that I hold with gratitude and honor.

I am the dragonfly.

There is a magnificent change transpiring on this planet we call home. The distortion, conflict, and separation is being swept away in order for truth, love, and oneness to take root. The old is clearing to make space for the new. 

A new earth.

A transformation parallel to that of the dragonfly. Gaia is rising, collectively we are transcending the bounds that have been placed upon us and we are remembering the infinite. In reclaiming our power, sovereignty is restored. An evolution of consciousness is taking place within the human family and at its core is The One. 

To give this all-encompassing one a label is an attempt to define something that inhabits a realm free from terminology.

But it is real, it is love, and it is you.

This shift into a higher dimension is not outside of you, it begins internally. Within your intentions, words, and actions. You are the author of this golden age. You are an original spark of the creator experiencing itself through a myriad of beings. You are an expression of god perfectly shaped by the keynote of free-will and individuality. You are a soul, in a human body, remembering its innate divinity. You are love. 

You are the dragonfly.

♡, fin