Friday, February 24, 2012

I believe I can fly..Elaine's journey continued

From the time I was little, I knew I was a polar bear spirit..my dad sometimes called me Nunuq, an Inuit word for polar bear. Anyone who knows me well, can tell you that my favourite four letter word is SNOW.


Those of us with polar bear spirits are strong, sometimes a little too strong for our own good. Interestingly, we tend to know each other in a crowd. Perhaps, we recognize that unmistakeable sense of independence that separates us from the crowd. A small child, of about kindergarten age, once turned away from her mom to tell me-I love polar bears TOO..she knew who I was, as much as I knew who she was.

artwork by ginaedwardsgallery.etsy.com

The Spirit animals with which we connect guide us in our lives..like stars in the night sky, they direct us to our paths.
artwork from www.Nativevermont.etsy.com

One postive aspect of cancer is that it drives us to ask questions and have conversations with those we love before they are gone. In such a conversation, I once asked...Mom, if you could be any animal on this beautiful earth, which would you pick to be?
Her immediate response was an eagle. She went on to say, "When I was young I often dreamed that I was able to fly. It was incredible. I would soar into the clouds, escaping the confines of Earth, and it was the most freedom I ever felt."


photo by www.aamagerscole.etsy.com


Mom told me that after one particularly vivid dream, she decided to "try her wings"..she climbed onto the garage roof, spread her arms out and jumped..expecting to catch the liberating winds which would lift her into the skies. The laws of gravity were in full effect and she soon found herself on the ground. To add insult to injury, her foot landed on a board with an exposed nail. She howled all the way to her house dragging the board, along with her disappointment, into the arms of her mother.


vintage airplane from www.calloohcallay.etsy.com

Mom always wanted to take flying lessons..she never missed an opportunity to fly. Even when she had to be air-lifted to the hospital in Thunder Bay, she said she was excited about taking a ride in the helicopter. She told me the first time she flew in an airplane, she looked out the window and felt as though she could get out and walk on the clouds..luckily she never tested THAT theory.

in the final moments of our lives, we must find the courage to release ourselves from all that is familiar....once freed, the limitations placed on us by our bodies and earthly responsibilities are gone and our souls take flight..Mom, I believe that now you CAN fly...


photography by www.reflectionsoflight.etsy.com

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful memories of your Mom. I want to be a soaring bird also, I'll fly beside her!

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  2. This is so lovely. What a light, adventurous spirit she had. Thanks for sharing this, Patti.

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