Dancing with the mysteries of life

Cherril Doty

I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as

they are looking for the experience of being alive.

-- Joseph Campbell

As the sound of goats bleating in the distance mingles with the

cawing of crows, a hawk circles overhead with a screech. A blue jay

nags for more peanuts and a hummingbird swoops down to chase off

another from the feeder. The life around me teems with sounds of

life. Everyone is hungry. They all seem to want more.

As I stare off into the distance to somewhere beyond what my eye

can see, my thoughts, too, turn to wanting more, to thoughts of the

experience of being very alive.

For the past two weeks, I have found myself driven to rise in the

moonlight and stretch the hours of the day late into the dark of

night. Lost in the space and time of my studio, I have been caught up

in a creative flow that just seems to surge through me. Painting,

gluing, building, trying one thing after another in order to get some

desired effect that changes in the midst of the process. Sweat

pouring off me, hands and clothing covered with the evidence of the

play; hair disheveled, salsa music an unheard accompaniment, I go for

hours forgetting to eat, not pausing to sit down, to rest. This is

me, wanting more, and I think of a quote from John Muir that

describes it perfectly for me: “The sun shines not on us, but in us.

The rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling,

vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making

them glide and sing.”

I vibrate. I tingle. I glide and sing and even laugh out loud at

nothing more than the joy of being so vibrantly alive in the creative

process. And, as singer Bryan Ferry says so well, “I want to dance

with life and leave behind a brilliant light.” Chasing down this muse

is sometimes just so much darn fun!

Being fully alive -- in life -- can be so many different things to

folks. It can even be different for a given individual at any one

time. While I am presently feeling so alive in the moments of

creativity, at another time it might be in working with a group of

clients or it might be scaling a mountain or even grieving the death

of a loved one. For another, it might be in the moments of shooting a

rapid or standing in a waterfall or giving birth. It can be found in

stasis or in change. It may be in the heightened awareness of a

moment of crisis or one of utter peace.

Whatever and wherever it is to be found, the moments of feeling

fully alive are more about the experience of life than attaching

meaning to it. And, yes, we can choose it.

Experience all of the mysteries that life offers. Dance with life.

Let your light shine. Meaning may -- or may not -- follow.

Cherril Doty is a creative life coach and artist. You can reach

her by e-mail at [email protected] or by calling 949-251-3883