It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others. — John Holmes

Yesterday I was walking under a clear blue sky. No breeze. No noise. The quiet of autumn’s gift of transition. What a gentle way nature has to ease us into winter. In this stillness I sensed movement. Not a sound. What was it? I looked up. A parachuter. Falling. Swaying. So softly. And I was happy. For him or her. To feel the lightness of being. 

I kept walking. There was another. Again. Just swaying in the blue.  Wow, I thought. Two. And 15 minutes later. A third. Three parachutes. In this small town. That was unusual. And mostly because, it occurred to me, I never saw a plane. I never heard a plane. They had to jump out of something. I was so close to the airport. So under the same sky. And I never saw the plane. I have no idea where they came from. They were here. Under, in, the same blue sky. Daring a fall. Living a dream. And I was happy for them.

Being from this small town in Minnesota, I grew up without a lot of differences. People looked like me. Talked like me. But for having a heart of an artist, I was a same.  My work, my life, my love, would not only introduce me to others, but help me become one. It would dare me to leap into the unknown. Dare me to stand as an other. Dare me to grow. Have empathy. Compassion. Understanding. A life leaping with faith. 

Today, I will walk, not afraid of what could appear, out of the blue, but hoping someone does! And join them, in the lightness of being.