I arrived on St. Thomas, USVI in May, 2021. This trip, we rented a stone house high on a cliff above the sea.
I live in constant pain. Routine is critical to my well-being. Given my sensitivities, traveling is rough and tumble for me. The first night I couldn’t sleep. Frankly, I usually wish I could go right back home the first day of any trip. This time was no exception.
Around midnight, banging shutters thrust me awake. Pouring rain thrashed outside, blowing the screens inward. I left the bedroom and wrapped myself in a sheet on the lumpy couch in the living room. I tried to settle my disoriented mind as the wind flung herself around and around the three walls of windows. I could not relax. I felt like a boat caught in a storm, lost at sea. My legs were burning in pain. I found myself swearing to never leave home again.
Then I remembered Deeptime. Instead of feeling stranded and scared, I allowed myself to consider what my Universe Friends might be trying to tell me. I remembered I am never alone because I am (of) the Universe. This immediately soothed me. Then I considered that the winds were Wild Women of the Sea, welcoming me with passion, cradling and rocking me in my nest above. They waited almost a year for me to return to St Thomas and grew impatient. They sent the rain to wash away the sickness, greed, and division of our times.
I exhaled. Relaxed. Breathed. And finally slept.
A few hours later, the rooster began its protest.
"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" he moaned and shrieked.
"ok, ok, ok!!"
After breakfast, I plugged in my headphones and stepped onto the deck, into the soft breeze of morning. Sunshine twinkled off the sailboats gliding gently in the brilliant blue-green water below.
For the next hour, I danced with my Friends. I waved my hands to the pink bougainvillea and shiny cacti below. I reached for the palm tree and the billowy clouds above. I hugged the sun to my heart. The black cat, who greeted me upon my arrival, raced to join me as did the lizards and iguanas, the little tiny bugs, the fish, the birds, the rocks, and even the coral.
“Come," I sang. "Come dance with me!"
I played an old tune over and over: “Jump” by the Pointer Sisters.
“Jump for my love! Jump in! And fill me up! If you want to taste my kisses in the night, Baby…Jump, Jump for my love. I know my heart can make you happy… “
Yes Universe! You do make me happy and you do help me dance away my pain…
