Wonderland

The Grand Prismatic Spring is true to its name: Brilliant

𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗻𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱 “𝗪𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱.”

Capitalizing on the popularity of Lewis Carroll’s book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” the Northern Pacific launched an ad campaign that presented the park as America’s “New Wonderland.”

In 1872 Yellowstone Park was named the first national park. It was named after the Yellowstone River which runs through the park. It had originally been called “Mi tse a-da-zi,” by the Minnetaree tribe in the 1800’s. It literally translates as “Rock Yellow River.”

𝗬𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗙𝗘𝗟𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗠𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 𝗔 𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥.

In our culture the conditioning is much about control. Control your life with dominance, confidence, determination, will...

Surrender is sometimes thought upon with a negative connotation—as in giving up, throwing in the towel, waving the white flag in submission–– an act of somehow choosing the *weaker* option–instead of winning, losing.

Mark Nepo says that surrender is finding the current and going with it. I agree. I don’t view surrender as giving up, throwing in the towel, becoming stagnant and losing in some way.

For me, surrender is about releasing outcome, handing things over to a higher power, aligning into the flow where I quiet my mind and know that all events, circumstances and people are here for my good; that everything is happening 𝙁𝙊𝙍 𝙈𝙀 and not 𝙏𝙊 𝙈𝙀. In this, I am able to embrace living in the present moment.

When we remain tied to what we think things 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 look like we may find ourselves wrapped up in the struggle, sinking in the depths of suffering.

What if surrender is a powerful act we have the opportunity to embrace?

When we release attachment to anything we think 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆, or 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆 we detach from the disappointment of unmet expectations.

𝙔𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙚. 𝘼 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚, 𝙮𝙚𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥, 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧.

We may enter Yellowstone expecting to watch a geyser erupt, and if the earth decides it’s not time, we may not see it.

We may enter Yellowstone wanting to see bison and bears, but we may not if the wildlife decide to take a different path on this day.

We may enter Yellowstone with a desire to fish, yet the lakes and the weather may not cooperate.

We may enter Yellowstone quite surprised at the assault of the smell of sulfur dioxide in some locations, and yet, if we desire to experience the beauty we surrender to the smell.

We may enter Yellowstone with the expectation that we might wait for over an hour to watch Old Faithful in action, and instead find that we walk up and within minutes, a perfect bench appears right up front and the magic show begins as if to say…”This one’s for you.”

Yellowstone offers confirmation that we can never really plan anything. Surrendering the plan to that which is even greater than I can see has become my practice.

No matter what expectations I may have entered Yellowstone Park with, they were lost while I was being filled up by a land that feels tenderly untouched. I wasn’t expecting the magnitude of beauty I experienced.

I felt deep gratitude that I was there at all.

This supervolcano leaves traces of the furry that is deep within our earth, always rumbling beneath. Geysers, mud volcanoes, mud pots, the steam spitting out of the earth remind me that we are floating around the universe on mother Gaia, and how truly incredible is that?

Absolutely no cell reception in the park and surrounding areas. Even better for surrendering.

As we drove away from Yellowstone, I lay in the back of the motorhome, watching out the window as that wonderland swiftly moved farther away and the sun lowered behind its mountain.

Just about then I heard all the notifications pinging my phone.

I had reentered the world.

Goodbye Yellowstone, thank you for the enchanting experience. xo -a

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