Take a moment and turn inward,
Shifting all your attention inside.
Let all the clamor of the day and the responsibilities and stress
fall off of you like beads of water,
And then evaporate.
Crawl in a deep breath,
And then let it go,
Centering on that space between your eyes.
Now see if you can envision walking on a hilly sidewalk in San Francisco with a brisk breeze
nuzzling your cheeks.
On each side of you are glorious Victorian homes,
In all pastels,
Like an artist's palette.
Curling around the homes are gorgeous bay windows that catch the sunlight,
And where
you see couples sit and chat and children read.
As you reach the top of the hill,
You see ice blue water in the distance,
And hear the
sound of a cable car passing.
Children in that cable car wave to you,
And you marvel at the young man who jumps off
and pulls the lever to stop.
You board the cable car and find a seat on a brown wooden bench,
Just as a man calls
All clear.
Along the way,
The cable car stops at the green dragon gates of Chinatown,
And a group
of women board.
The women quietly chatter,
Oblivious to anyone else.
As the cable car comes to a stop,
You get off and walk to the end of a pier,
Where a
herd of sea lions stretch across the rocks.
The shiny black males bark and bob their heads up and down for emphasis,
While gazing at
the creatures,
A slender female with dark eyes like magic pool catches your attention.
She lifts her head from a baby seal that's nestled close to her body and gazes directly
at you.
For a moment,
You both watch each other,
With a feeling of understanding passing between
you.
A male calls for her,
And the female returns her attention to her herd,
With her baby
cuddling even closer,
And you can't help but smile.
Now imagine if you can,
Closing your eyes and being transported from the pier to Golden
Gate Park.
As you open your eyes,
You find yourself right in front of the pagoda of the Japanese Tea
Garden.
Your eyes climb the five-story tiers of the pagoda,
Each fanning out in a beautiful red.
As you gaze at the beautiful structure,
The energy of the pagoda seems to reach out to
you and fill you with heightened perception and awareness of all that is around you.
The natural beauty of the trees and lakes and the tea garden itself fills your being.
You draw in a deep breath and decide to have a cup of tea in the garden,
And then bask
in this incredible awareness of nature.
The tea streams into your body,
Soothing it,
Warming it.
After tea,
You meander through the park,
Until you come to a paddock with a small herd of
bison,
Which you had heard lived in the park.
The great chocolate and auburn creatures graze and snort,
Until one with a tuft of fuzzy
dark hair piled on her head spies you.
She stands mighty and strong.
Power oozes from her,
And she inspires awe in you.
The female bison approaches at a steady and deliberate pace,
Close enough to look at you
with her dark,
Rich eyes.
You and the bison lock eyes in a soulful gaze where she imparts to you her history.
In just a few seconds,
You see her ancestors roaming golden plains,
Grazing,
And then forced
out of their lands as people amassed.
In that moment,
You feel her and know how she emerged so strong,
So powerful.
The bison bows her head,
Acknowledging the strength she sees in you,
Then walks back
to her herd.
Gratitude comes over you.
As your time in San Francisco comes to an end,
You try to wrap your mind around the
layers of experiences the city shared with you.
And as you return to your room and snuggle up in your bed,
You understand that,
For you,
San Francisco is a new awareness that lives and breathes with you.
Namaste.
Beautiful.
