It seemed I had some preconceived ideas about the Goddess Pele, you know, the hot headed wild child of the Hawaiian Islands? She can be portrayed as quick tempered, vain and sexual. (Not that that’s a bad thing…)

The last time I worked with her, only briefly, a few things that I needed to happen quickly did. So I was thinking of her, or her energy, as being one that can get things moving or happen quickly. And yes that’s true but…there is a much greater depth to it.

My painting of Her was progressing smoothly. I felt happy with it, excited about it. Then I stopped. Things came up. After a couple of days I realized that I had planned to be finished with her by then and instead I hadn’t painted at all. And I realized I hadn’t really stepped into her energy at all either. Instead of go, go, go, in the way I thought she was, she made me stop to understand more completely the idea behind the movement.

Pele doesn’t move randomly or impulsively. She moves instinctually. Her movements are about trust and the flow of the universe. And when you find yourself in that flow you cannot afford to stop and think, you cannot over analyze or you will crash and burn, miss opportunities. Pele is teaching me to trust my instincts and my intuition. She is teaching me to grasp life, but don’t hang on. It is more experiencial and a letting go. She teaches us not to question but to enjoy the ride.

Let go of your fear and ride the mountain. Feel the movement and make a hundred tiny adjustments for balance so that you don’t get creamed on the way down. You won’t have time to think about it you can only react to it. Adjust, move, balance, breath, flow… rinse and repeat.

We heard, last minute, about an event that my husband wanted to participate in and he kept missing it. We were not dressed, we were tired, we thought we were late already if we tried to go, he had to pick up his son, we didn’t have a sitter, we don’t have anything to wear, we shouldn’t spend any money…a thousand excuses. But after living a very long time taking care of the “have to do’s” we are making an effort to slip in those “want to do’s”. Because nourishment for the soul is just as important as nourishment for the body.

So we looked at each other and said let’s make this happen. It turns out my older daughter could watch her younger siblings AND she loaned me a dress, my husband picked up his son and threw on a clean shirt and we left, the money in my wallet reserved for a bill instead of fun became “well, I DO have some cash if we need it”. But we didn’t. And we went. And he won the event that night.

I had promised my son we would go to a baseball game this summer. But I had been so busy taking care of the “have to do’s” that summer was nearly over and we hadn’t yet gone. Could we afford it? Well, I did have that money in my wallet that was reserved for a bill…and I thought what is a late fee compared to the happiness of my child and his memory of a wonderful night and a promised kept? So we went.

On the way to the ticket booth we were stopped by a man who gave us his season tickets that he was not able to use as well as coupons for all of us to get a free hot dog and coke. Confirmation to me that we made the right choice, we were in the groove.

Today I get a call last minute from a friend. She was excited about the some work being done in the community by some college student volunteers and disabled residents. She asked if we could head over right now and check it out. Okay, so the kitchen was in the middle of a creative mess and I had to be somewhere in less than an hour…but if the universe is going to ask I’m going to answer. So we dropped everything and went. I met some great people and learned about an organization that I believe may be able to help a friend of mine.

These are just a few of the things that have happened and only some of the benefits that I can see now, on the surface. Often the choices we make can take years to reveal all the ripples and connections and happenings that move us along, position us in life, give us a better vantage point, help us to meet the right people and a hundred other things.

We will always have an excuse, we can always come up with a justification for not doing something, not answering that call, not taking a chance. But what if we do? What does that set in motion?

Trust. Instinct. Intuition. Pele’s movement is not random or impulsive it is instinctual. It is about trying to see the bigger picture while understanding that you can never see it all. You have to trust. Life can happen fast and if you think too hard you’ll fall off the mountain. It is a series of hundreds of adjustments happening at breakneck speed and your job is to go with the flow. When you’re in that groove you know it, you can feel it, Pele is with you and things are going to move fast. Sometimes so fast all you can do is react, adjust, move, balance, breath, flow… rinse and repeat.