Chapter 5 Dahlia sat at the small kitchen table,
Staring into a hot cup of freshly brewed tea,
As if it held all the answers to her current dilemma.
If only it was as simple as reading tea leaves to trust herself in the decision she was making today.
25 years old.
A significant birthday in any human journey.
And yet for Dahlia,
She could feel the turning of the karmic wheel of fortune,
The cosmic shift.
From as far back as she could remember in this lifetime,
The age of 25 had always been her focus.
This would be the year when her soul would guide her into greatness,
Illuminate her reason for being here on this planet that was filled with chaos,
Uncertainty,
And such stark division.
This was a world filled with contrasts that created separation.
A confusing world.
In her mind,
25 signified to Dahlia true adulthood,
Which offered more autonomy and independence than all the years leading up to this one.
Being a child in the structure of this planet was not easy,
As the grown-ups dismissed the clarity and words of wisdom flowing from those younger than them.
On this,
Her 25th birthday,
Dahlia felt tired.
Tired of explaining,
Defending,
Justifying,
And continuously re-centering in her perspective of the potential of life here on earth.
The collective consciousness,
Or unconsciousness,
Was so thick and heavy and committed to struggle and effort as the basic human condition.
Dahlia felt the intensity of her inner mantra this morning flow forward.
Allow me to be a conduit of pure love,
Pure consciousness,
In each breath,
In every word,
And in all actions.
Thank you.
Her body immediately softened as she felt energy,
Love,
Flowing through her blood,
Going through her veins,
The oxygen dancing through her lungs.
Deep in this moment of contemplation,
Dahlia was startled by the sound of voices in the other room.
Turning quickly,
She first smiled and then jumped up from her chair to go hug her little sister and mother,
Who had just walked into the kitchen.
Laughter flowed through all the words of birthday wishes that jumbled together as the three hugged tightly.
Sighing with joy,
Dahlia stepped back from the hug,
Still holding on to each of their hands.
Twenty-five,
She said,
Looking from her mother's eyes over to her sister's.
This is the year.
We know,
We know,
Natalia said,
Looking at her sister with pure adoration.
And we are ready.
How are you feeling?
Confused,
Dahlia said with a deep sigh.
I may not really confuse you,
Because I know what to do,
But confused because I can't see the whole plan yet.
I don't know who will be with me and if I should wait just a little bit longer for them to find me.
Her mother smiled gently and said,
It is all unfolding perfectly,
Dahlia,
And you will know each next step just as you always have before.
Now,
Shall we make you your favorite crepes to start off today's adventures?
Nodding at the comfort of her mother's steady faith and words,
Dahlia sat down and leaned back in her chair.
Yes,
Let's begin this next year with crepes,
Mama.
A few hours later,
With her backpack on her shoulder,
Dahlia walked into her favorite coffee shop and made her way to the armchair in the corner by the window.
Putting her backpack down,
She walked over to order her chai latte,
Greeting Marianne with a smile and quick conversation about the weather.
Drink in hand,
She walked back to her spot and settled in,
Placing her laptop carefully on the wide armrest.
Logging into their Wi-Fi,
She opened up her email account and started scanning her inbox.
She wasn't sure what she was looking for yet,
But she knew she would feel the energetic ping when it arrived.
Discouraged at the normalcy of all the messages,
She exhaled out deeply and closed her eyes to recenter.
Allow me to be a conduit of pure love,
Pure consciousness,
In each breath,
In every word,
And in all actions.
Thank you.
What action in this moment would be in alignment with pure love,
She thought.
Dahlia found herself flowing easily into a review again of the plan.
1.
To commit to the three-month,
200-hour yoga teacher training program in Bali.
2.
To buy her one-way airplane ticket.
3.
To confirm with the Airbnb host for a four-month stay.
4.
To quit her job.
No more waiting,
She heard herself say out loud.
Feeling a huge buzz of energy wash from the top of her crown all the way down to her feet,
She knew the moment was now.
No more waiting.
No more wondering who would be joining her.
No more questioning the timing,
Or the program,
Or any of the details.
She already knew.
With her heart beating rapidly and her fingertips tingling,
Dahlia typed in the name of the retreat center that she had been repeating over and over for the past year.
Navigating through the pages,
She clicked on the link to purchase the teacher training starting on August 1st.
Her mind racing through the logistics,
Dahlia found herself smiling as a deep peace moved through her heart chakra.
Six weeks until everything changes,
She thought.
It is time.
Here we go.
