Unfolded

I am aware that I could not do it alone. I can become unfolded only so much alone, but in reality I am not alone. The unfolding, the opening up has been the result of tender presence and gentle touch. There are some things that require the presence of a companion.

I know that, like the large maple tree in my back yard, the buds have been there, formed and folded, but waiting to open wide. The buds open only when they are touched by the soft, warm breeze of April. For me the breeze must be in the form of the touch of spoken words, the caress that comes in many ways.

The awaking is an unfolded slumber that has finally surrendered to a call of an April breeze that is both close and yet distinct. Perhaps, it is the diminishing illusion of separateness that has brought this unfolding experience. Feeling the presence of an-other has been to experience the sameness we both inhabit.

For me, there is a recognition that the unfolded bud has now become the essence of the April breeze, and the breeze is now the essence of the bud. Both are forever changed. The memory is all that exists of the past. The opening is now what is present.

When the bud has unfolded, it is no longer just a bud. It is now a bud touched by the breeze. The breeze has become a lasting part of the unfolded bud. Both are forever changed. Neither bud or breeze can return to their former state.

This is a wondrous place to be, a wondrous thing to experience. Know that the experienced mingling of essence is but a discovery of what already exists. However, there is such a great joy that there are moments when I can be aware that we actually connected as one.

This kind of joy demands that the bud and breeze can yield to the other. Perhaps, it requires that two people be both April breeze and bud for the other. It becomes apparent that when the buds are open, there is no turning back. There is no longer a breeze, no longer folded buds. April has truly arrived, the world will no longer be as it was. The unfolding has occurred.