Reach For the Sky

 

Now is the time to look up and go for it.

 

It seems that summer brings on the energy for many things to reach for the sky and grow. 

 

There is the right amount of sunshine, water comes when needed from a few sources and then there is a helping hand to keep it all going. 

 

It can be like these flowers reaching up between towers of concrete. 

 

I saw these on a recent walk through miles of buildings and they had me looking back over my shoulder. 

 

They seemed to call my name, so I quickly slipped away from my group to lower my gaze for this view. 

Do you see how they reach for the sky?

Do you see how they reach for the sky even in the place they are now? 

 

I could see that they had been given enough sunlight, the water needed and even some kind of gardener to take care of them. 

 

As I walked away from them that day I wondered about other times when this may have been in place. 

 

Find a time when you have been given enough energy or maybe you have created that energy for that space. 

 

What did it feel like? 

 

There were times when I was a young mom learning dozens of new skills for our son as he came home from the hospital, when it felt like my energy came alongside the therapists who we saw each week. 

 

They taught and gave me one or two things to try at home. 

 

Did I know what I was doing at the time? No, not in the beginning. 

 

Yet their energy and belief that all things can be learned jetted me forward. 

They helped me reach for the sky as life continued.

They helped me reach for the sky as life continued in our home. 

 

What they taught also brought more awareness about the good things to come. 

It felt like joy was coming back to us. 

What a powerful memory to have this day. 

 

There have been other times when someone has watered the days of life with me. 

 

A moment came when a friend popped into a meeting halfway across the state to slide a small gift across the table. 

 

It’s because we’re friends.

I know where you are right now and I am here with you, she said. 

 

It was a rose that sat there on the table. Something that would need to be watered, fed and pruned. 

 

Was I up for this, I wondered as I looked at my friend. 

She smiled and walked away. 

 

That rose has helped to water the days of life by creating beauty and teaching me to pay attention to a part of our yard. 

Remembering to reach for the sky as I watch it every year. 

Are you thinking of a time or two when others have helped you reach?

Are you thinking of a time or two when others have helped you reach? 

 

Here is one more. 

 

I stood in a space with two others to share that it was time for a new person to reach for the sky with them. 

 

They knew it and so did I. 

 

The knowing felt calm as if all of the growing with the right amount of care had been in place. 

 

What gratitude came from being heard by all of us. 

 

Being able to say important things happened in a space that had been developed alongside years of listening to one another first. 

 

Perhaps when I saw these hollyhocks growing together it all came back to me. 

 

Beautiful moments of life come when I am given the right amount of energy, watering of knowledge from others and kind, joyful care. 

 

That is when reaching for the sky has been possible. 

 

Doing it now with others can be done one bright sun-filled moment at a time. 

I am here for it. 

 

Who wants to reach up with me?