Ice to Water

(The recording is a reading of the writing below - hopefully giving you options for the whatever way works best for you to engage with this publication!)

Sometime ice melts slowly. Warmed by the sun on a clear day, each drop, one at a time becoming water. Drip, drip, drip, dropping into the ground, sliding off the rock, rejoining the lake.

Other times ice is destroyed. A cove full of ice suddenly begins to move under the pressure of the wind and the waves it creates. As the north wind gains strength, each wave pushes into the ice, breaking it into pieces that crash into each other. So quickly the ice disappears with only the stubborn edges holding out a little longer.

On this day, the waves are destroying the ice. The entire cove goes from ice covered to nearly ice free in less than thirty minutes even though it’s still below freezing.  I notice how beautiful waterfalls are created each time the water runs over the edge of the remaining ice and then recedes. Back and forth, ebb and flow, each time a little more ice turning to water.

The waves create a soundtrack like clinking glass as the ice is pushed and pulled and the pieces crash together. The rising sun creates sparkles in the splashes where the waves meet the rocks. It’s stunning in its beauty and its brevity.

I too am constantly trying to melt the ice that forms as tension in my body. Some days there’s less ice and some days more. Sometimes the ice melts one drip at a time and some days a wave of emotion destroys it in an instant. However it melts, I am grateful for the softening.

Last week I listened to an episode of the “Ten Percent Happier” podcast where Dan Harris interviewed the amazing singer/songwriter/actress/polymath Sara Bareilles about how she has dealt with anxiety throughout her life. She named her anxious self “tight Tina” and that feels just about right to me.

I am grateful for every wave, every bit of sunlight, every single tool I can find that helps to melt me back into the floor, back into my body and back into life.

Ice to water. How do you melt the tight places in your life?

I’ve been participating in a Substack class where I’m learning ways to make this newsletter more engaging. I’ve gotten great feedback from classmates and lots of new ideas are spinning in my head. As I’m trying these ideas out in the next few weeks (and months) I’d love to get your feedback on what works for you as a reader/listener and what might make it even better.

One thing on my mind is to give you multiple ways of consuming the content, including the voice recording at the beginning. Whether you prefer to read or listen, scroll or rest on one photo, I hope I can provide a bit of a meditation. A little moment of peace in your day with a nudge for contemplation. This is what my mornings at the lake give to me and passing them on seems like an act of reciprocity with the world.

Please let me know your thoughts below!