I had to take a trip to France to realize some things. Perhaps we go the long way around for very profound reasons. Perhaps the linear route was never the intent. If our paths are more circular, perhaps we come to a crossroads in life where we see that life is not linear, nor are the choices we make and the epiphanies that we have. Perhaps our journeys are exactly as they are meant to be: not wrong, not right, but present; not good, not bad, but embodied.

And maybe the work that is ours has more to do with noticing reality - really noticing it, not just in a superficial way, but beneath the surface of things - rather than editing and attempting to control it. If we embody the present rather than push against it, then we become participants in it. We actually can begin to learn how to curate our experiences when we are dwelling within them. We become less reactionary and more responsive.

Me, getting a crescent moon tattoo near Moulin Rouge, Paris, France, 2/2022

One of the things on my list to do while in France most of the month of February this year, was to get a tattoo in the Moulin Rouge district of Paris. We’d thrown the idea around back in the Fall of 2016 when I was there last, but it never materialized. It wouldn’t have happened this time around either without my dear friend and travel companion, Sharilyn, who has a way of making things happen. We walked out of the shop that day, both bearing new ink on our skin (Sharilyn, I am eternally grateful to you for making this happen and sharing in the experience).

My new Waxing Crescent Moon Tattoo (Sharilyn, who was also inked, in the background)

Why a crescent moon you ask? This isn’t just any crescent moon. It’s a waxing moon, and it is open toward the direction of my body, mind and heart. Please allow me to explain a few things. I have always had a mad love affair with the moon. I remember sitting on a stool in the front yard of my childhood home watching a lunar eclipse into the early morning. I stayed until the last edge of the shadow on our satellite disappeared. I remember how breathtaking it was. I have always swooned over the moon. And, I have always strained to listen to her wisdom.

This ink is a reminder to me. I always encourage my clients to fly forward with receptivity, curiosity and gentleness. In a waxing state, the moon moves toward fullness, a whole and hopeful way of being. She is pointing inward, toward my body, heart and brain. This is a proclamation to me to continue to wax with thoughtfulness, equanimity and groundedness. It takes much inner work to stay in present reality, when that reality might be painful. I continue to learn from the rhythm and patterns of the moon and hope for the ability to embody reality, stay present and receptive to giving and receiving love.

I have much to say yet, but I will leave that for another entry. For now I will leave you with this beautiful poem about staying open and receptive.

The Healing Time

Finally on my way to yes

I bump into all the places

where I said no to my life

All the untended wounds

the red and purple scars

those hieroglyphs of pain

carved into my skin,

my bones, those coded messages

that send me down

the wrong street

again and again

where I find them,

the old,

old misdirections

and I lift them

one by one

close to my heart

and say,

Holy, holy

~ Pesha Gertler