“Til I can see so wide”

The Swing…Robert Louis Stevenson

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide,

River and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside–

Till I look down on the garden green,

Down on the roof so brown–

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!

Think back: you’re 8, you’re on a mission: you’re off to the park….on skates, skateboard, bike, foot, or someone’s driving you. But you have one thing and one thing in mind: you will swing. and not only swing but you will crank those legs as powerfully as you can and swing as high as possible because you know that the secret fairies may, just maybe, come and sprinkle their flying dust on your toes and grant you wings such that with one of your final ascents you’ll feel the burst of the new beginnings of wings…

But for now, you will swing.

And you will get the best swing out there.

On yer mark…get set….GO!

Remember?
Maybe yours was the monkey bars or the slide or whatever but all of us had some goal we’d master that afternoon at the playground.

This was no show up and meander kinda afternoon. We were on a mission by golly. 🙂

I was reminded of my 8 year old self on a recent trip to the beach. (No mom, I didn’t travel to the sun secretly…)

This beach I journeyed to was covered in snow and too freezing to stay outside and play too long. But it was at night, no one around and the sounds of the waves…hmmmm….is there anything more soothing?

I will have a beach cottage some day where I can raise a window and listen all day to the humm of the waves crashing on the shore. But until then my sound maker does just fine.

Back to the story.

I’m standing there…or maybe I sat…and I gazed up at the stars….It was pitch black..so I’m hearing the waves and staring at the stars….and what pops into my thoughts but this poem which was such a favorite when I was 8. I think it was one of the first I’d memorized and surely I thought Stevenson wrote it about me because I adored swinging so often. 😉

But there I sat on the snow covered beach..staring at the stars, listening to the waves, and reciting these lyrics in my thoughts. “Til I can see so wide….” I used to scream that out very loud and boldly and probably scared off a few younger folks when I did so. I love the line. Til I can see so wide.

There’s expectation therein.

There’s a promise.

There’s a resolve.

And staring up at the bazillions of stars that night I thought of possibilities….how there’s always infinite amounts of good ideas and options overflowing.

None of us are cornered in between this or the other choice of lifestyle, job, project, process, how to, whatever.

Life is not ever going to be about this or that. It will always be about choose from a plethora of options.

Talk about a win win.

And my 8 year old didn’t know the phrase ‘what if?’ (as in ‘what if you pick the wrong choice?’) I doubt if she even ever doubted her choices. (She was kinda heady to be truthful…but…:) )

My thoughts are sweet and simple for today:

See so wide….

Expect it!!! Expect to see so wide.

Expect a plethora of good.

Expect loads of options….LOADS.

Expect bazillions stars of possibilities.

Realize you’re never stuck between this or that, one or the other, A or B…

Love yourself enough to invite yourself to SEE SO WIDE.
What d’ya think?

What can you do right now, this next ten minutes to expect possibilties?

What can you do to walk around in your day and expect to see so wide?

Would love to hear. You may even have fun pausing and remembering your 8 yr old childlike self….s/he was full of wonder and courage and might. 🙂

And as always, if you want help, lemme know.