Story
for October 2007
It was late in the evening and, as the sun was setting,
a few golden rays lingered on the distant mountainside.
Skylar found her thoughts filled with the desire
to feel the warmth of the sun and she began to move.
She was flying again. It was different this time.
This evening she didn’t “think” about
how to start or how it would look, nothing about
how different she wanted it to be. Skylar just started
moving toward the light.
Moving through the trees and the branches she kept
going up when she noticed a few power lines. Compared
to the myriad of branches in the trees, these were
nothing
As she flew threw the trees gravitating toward the
fading sunlight Skylar found herself confronted with
an intense maze of power lines, so thick she had
to pull them apart. Using her hands to get through
them she thought of the possibility of electrocution.
But, nothing happened and she found herself surprised
at that instant.
It was then that she noticed the power lines were
all connected by very thin, sheer gauze. It was quite
strong, so much so that she couldn’t tear it
to get beyond it
Skylar could see the sunlight still brilliant in
the distance.
She needed to get through this maze to get to the
light. Wanting an opening it appeared before her.
A huge gap suddenly existed between two of the heavy
power lines so she simply flew through. Who was she
to question the opportunity right in front of her?
As she continued upward, attempting to stay clear
of any further obstacles, it grew very dark.
She was looking for the sun and couldn’t find
it. She’d lost sight of it.
Suddenly Skylar was confronted with a ceiling – slatted
boards and quite well made – but a ceiling
all the same.
She had made it through obstacles before on other
journeys but this – this one was different.
She didn’t feel that she could get through
this. She could feel her heart start to pound in
her chest and even in the absence of the sun’s
warming glow she began to sweat. It was as if her
body began to thrum with the beat of a bass drum.
Skylar was afraid. She wasn’t going to make
it through.
Then she heard a still small voice reminding her
that she had made it before. Ever so gently it was
reminding her to be calm
She knew there was a way if she just looked so she
stopped flying around like a darting humming bird.
Taking in a breath she saw it. In that instant, as
she looked where she had last noticed the sun, there
were three doors contained within a glass wall.
The sunlight was on the other side.
Her eyes were drawn to a massive, aged padlock lock
on one of the doors. Momentarily she felt the fear
that she would have to return...to go back.
In that instance she noticed the lock was on the
door marked “in”.
There were two doors that led “out”.
Both had a wide lever to open them that simply said “push”.
Noticing that the sunlight was stronger on the door
on the left she moved forward toward that one, pushed
on the lever and went through.
Once on the other side Skylar drank in the sun
as it shone brilliantly against a bright blue sky.
She basked in the air as it had that fresh spring
morning smell of green grass, sweet spring flowers
and that damp fragrance of sun evaporating the
early morning dew.
Looking around she had the feeling that this was
an anachronistic experience. As Dorothy said to Toto
in the Wizard of Oz, “Toto, I don’t think
we’re in Kansas any more.”
Somehow tonight’s flight took her “through” to
a different place and time altogether.
It wasn’t that things really looked any different.
In fact, in the distance she could see a sprawling
city with cars filling the streets and lights promoting
the myriad of businesses for the millions of people
bustling about.
Now Skylar never went flying with anyone. She never
talked about it. Her nocturnal flights had been just
that—contained within that evening and all
undercover of the starry night sky. So in that sense
this whole experience was out of the norm but she
wasn’t prepared for what she saw next.
She gazed up. Looking higher into the sky and she
saw a hole. Skylar didn’t know what she expected
after the ceiling she had just left behind but it
wasn’t this. Here was a vast unfinished air
duct. A hole was one thing. It could have been an
anomaly like a black hole—she was well aware
of the myriad of things she didn’t know but
this? An air duct? In the sky?
She could see everything—the wood frame partially
hidden behind white clouds, yellow insulation encased
in brown paper on either side, the round silver tubing
of the duct itself…and…an airplane that
was flying into the tubing. A plane that appeared
microscopic against the enormity of the air duct.
As she stared she found herself wondering what this
was all about.
It was as if this were a part of life that challenged
her saying, “Come, leave your journey and spend
a lifetime figuring out why I’m here.”
It was then that she knew this was a mystery for
another day, another time. It wasn’t important
to know why the air duct appeared in this hole in
the say. Nor was it wasn’t important, right
now, to understand why that plane chose to take that
route.
This was a mystery to explore another day.
Nothing mattered in that moment except the feeling
of the warmth of the sun and the freedom in this
moment to “be”.
Skylar wanted to share this feeling, this event
with someone. She found herself thinking how wonderful
it would feel to have someone join her in this experience.
As she turned to fly home she noticed that the return
trip seemed instantaneous compared to the journey
toward the sunlight.
She had been thinking about Peter and the next thing
she knew—she could see him standing there—off
in the distance, playing with his granddaughter Susan.
Settling down on the sidewalk Skylar walked up to
Peter telling him that there was something she wanted
to share with him. She asked him if he would join
her for “just a few minutes”.
Sending Emily up to the house they walked off across
the street to a park surrounded by trees. It was
quiet and no one in sight.
Reaching a grassy knoll Peter asked what this was
all about and for a minute Skylar was afraid that
it wouldn’t work with someone with her. Every
previous flight had been when she was alone, at nighttime,
everyone was around her was asleep.
Again a kind of peace that came over her, that calm
sense of just “being” and she looked
at the top of the trees seeing the stars in the distance
and she was moving…up.
Level with the top of the trees Skylar stopped and
hovered. Looking down at Peter she smiled asking
him to join her.
At first a wistful smile played across his face.
She knew that look – how often had she had
it when there was something she wanted and yet didn’t
believe she had the right to possess it.
Then she noticed a worried look in his eyes. She
could hear his voice cut clearly though the silence
as he said, “That’s not right, you shouldn’t
do that”. He turned away to go home. He didn’t
tell her to stop. He didn’t say to come back.
He only told her she shouldn’t be doing what
she was already doing.
She knew that he could do it. Skylar knew that he
could fly too, and somehow she knew that he knew
it.
She also knew that he didn’t want to. He never
would fly because of his choice. His family couldn’t
fly because they didn’t believe that they could.
He wouldn’t leave them behind so he would never
even try.
Skylar felt herself starting to drift back toward
the ground
For a third time that evening she was afraid. Afraid
this time that, she couldn’t fly, that if she
continued to fly she would be leaving her family
behind.
She realized she didn’t want to hurt anyone
and she wanted the approval. In that instant, she
knew that the desire for approval was the greatest
obstacle she was facing. She knew that she didn’t
need his approval to fly, she loved the feeling.
She loved the freedom. She loved the warmth of
the sun and always being able to feel it fill her
with energy and life.
The sun warmed her skin and she felt secure in its “touch”.
She loved the feel of the tree tops and running her
hands through the leaves and branches. She loved
the crystal clear view of the stars with nothing
between us.
If she always had to have his or others approval
she would never be free.
Skylar smiled then noticing she was till in the
air. She had stopped descending.
As she watched Peter walk towards home he turned
once and smiled. No words but a look that said everything
and then she turned and flew away.
Skylar could fly and people could see her—or
not—it didn’t matter any more. She knew
it was about letting others choose their path, about
being able to be one with the universe, to experience
in a grand way, all of the joys that life has to
offer.
She had allowed herself to accept her freedom.
USE OF THIS STORY IN YOUR EZINE
OR WEB SITE. You can use it as long as you agree
to leave the story intact with no changes, omissions
and to include the following blurb at the end of
it: Kira Wagner
is one of America's "most persuasive and entertaining
speakers!" She is the creator of Freedom's
Formula and author of the book Handbook for Freedom.
To contact Kira for a speaking engagement: visit: www.yourfreedomguide.com. |
