Flow – Harnessing Our All

There were a few years when I worked for Tenneco that I would roller skate into work each morning.  It was a 7-8 mile skate and my safest route at 3:30 am was a mix of bayou sidewalks.  Each morning as I approach downtown I would meet up with a large group of cyclists.  One morning I heard from the front, “Sidewalk out ahead”.  That was the last time I skated into work for it took months for my cuts and abrasive injuries to heal.  When inline skates came out I was an earlier adopter, for their single line of wheels had less trouble with road rocks and sticks that are disastrous for a roller skater. 

Why skating?  When I learned to surf in the mid-60s, it was also my introduction into my understanding flow.  You know the feeling, effortless control of our actions while fully immersed in an energized focus of harnessing all of who we are.  The rhythm of skating, like surfing, takes me to a place of almost instant flow.  Last year, after my cancer spread to my hip bones, my oncologists suggested I give up skating.  It took me a while to find another flow activity, but this year I started beading and teaching “hope and healing” bracelet classes at MD Anderson.  Last night as I worked on a bracelet for MaryBeth using very small agate and coral beads, I was once again was riding the waves of flow.  How do you connect to flow?