Is This a Dream?

How to describe the ineffable? By definition, it’s impossible… but I will try my best.

Today, I walked off of a cliff and was lifted into the air far above the green valley floor. At times I floated just a few feet above the tree tops, listening to the wind rustling in the leaves, watching the branches sway in the breeze, quietly sailing upon the buoyancy of the atmosphere. Birds flew above, below, and along side me. I knew I was in a realm in which few have ventured.

And then higher I climbed, above the summer haze, up toward the wispy clouds hanging in the sky. My friends joined with me in the air, donning their brilliant multicolored wings until we became a parade of aerial interlopers in gentle dance, playing among one another far above the cliffs and hills below.

The late afternoon sun shone down upon the Tennessee farms and cottages in the lush valley. Contours of the high ridges and densely forested slopes cascaded into the distance. At 3800 feet, the sweltering heat of this summer day gave way to a cool and clean breeze, refreshing the lungs and skin and soul. The air is sublime at this altitude.

Surveying the land below, the clouds above, the birds and friends in all directions, a peace indescribable filled my heart. I am flying, and that’s all that matters in this very moment. Dreams of wonder and fantasy have become true as an unblemished smile beams upon the world in which I find myself.

“It’s just you and the elements. You’re trying to realize your own potential in a place where no one sees, and no one cares. There’s a purity in that.” (Bill Belcourt)

And then as if on cue, a red-tailed hawk joined in my quiet merriment, perhaps only 50 feet away. Together we flew thousands of feet above the ground. She spread her wings wide, every fleck of gold and burgundy sparkling in her feathers. We spent a few moments floating upon the crisp air, sharing this beautiful sky, breathing with the flow and respiration of the earth.

How does one begin to describe the Perfect?

This is what happened for me today. I wish I could bottle this experience and give it to everyone I know.

“People have to meditate for years to become present. All we have to do is launch.” (Gavin McClurg)

Paragliding.