Sam scampers through the playground and I hear him chanting a rhyme of some sort. He’s happy so I leave him to his adventure of climbing and sliding, running, swinging – dinging in dirt and the constant assertion when I come closer than he needs, “I can do it myself.” And then I hear it, the chant he is singing to himself, “Inner peace, inner peace, inner peace…”

Willem is in a state and she needs to calm herself. I ask her to breathe. She sits down, crosses her legs in lotus position, takes and deep breath and begins, “Inner peace, inner peace, inner peace…”

Sam and Willem are both three years old and rarely see each other, none the less, they have a connection. When they are with me they will say or do something the same and it will be something niether has done before. It’s as if there is a bound and they connect through a common element, being – they each spend time with me. I am their Alma.

I ask their parents – what is this Inner peace? Their answer is the same – “Kung Fu Panda”. I come home from one house with “Kung Fu Panda” and the other with “Kung Fu Panda 2”. An animated Panda bear called Po has taught them about inner peace. Sam to be where he is, in the moment, experiencing. Willem, to calm herself. The idea of inner peace is not new to me – and yet I may have let it slip away in my rush of existing. Notice I didn’t write living. True living, I’m sure, would include an element of peace. Three year old children would be my reminder.Hmmm.

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I sit in a wing back chair to meditate, feet planted for grounding, hands in my lap with palms open for receiving, eyes closed, sitting comfortably and I begin. I pray and breathe and I feel it. My energy is racing, agitated as if I just hit the start button on my latest task of “get er done”. Not an ounce of calm, not a smidge of relaxation. I am electric, plugged in. I am grateful to be conscious, to know what state I’m in, even if it’s not where I would like to be.

This summer I decided to venture forward on a path of fitness. The Anti-Gravity class at the gym I have joined looked exciting and very Cirque du Soleil. Floating mid-air like an acrobat. I imagine myself preforming gentle aereole movements bringing me into a graceful physique of sleekness and tone. I decided this – no where in the new members pamphlet did it say this.

I stand before my violet sling of draped silky fabric and wonder. Hmmm, just how am I expected to get from the floor into this heavenly hammock. No ladder, no human to hoist me up. As my grandson Sam would say, “Looks tricky, Alma”. To say the least. Willem might add, “This is very serious”, here I would tend to agree.

Suzie the instructor begins and I follow her reassuring directions and up I go. She does look my way, smiling, suggesting I would feel better if I could let go of the fearful expression on my face. Good idea – I alter it into a frozen smile, hoping it implies that I’m having fun and can hardly wait for more.

Suzie then takes us forward and over we go – hanging upside down releasing our hands to the floor, knowing our sling that is drapped around our shoulders will hold us and then our legs are to come over our heads into one elaborate stretch. Oh my god!!

I have my head down and my hands are hanging on for dear life. Trust; where the hell did it go?! Suzie is crouched down by my head and asking me to let go, guiding my arms to where she wants them to be. Everything she is saying to me is drowned out by my chant – “I am safe, I am safe.” Finally I register that I’m not on the same page with her and manage to reply with, “What do you want me to do?” “Breathe”. I do and release myself to follow her directions – I am hanging. And, I am safe.

I continue to clumsily maneuver my body through the rest of the class, until we come to Shavasana. Enveloped within our slings, cacooning, floating effortlessly. Time to relax and feel where we are now – in this moment. Suzie gently directs us to ask ourselves; what did we come with, what did we let go of, what have we gathered. I am alive and as promised by Suzie I was safe. As I breathe, I thank myself for being brave, yet at the same time I appreciate how fearful I was and the idea of “letting go” was a difficult concept to grasp, even though my grasp on my violet life line was pretty tight!

Two days later – I summon the courage to return. This time to my surprise the hammock was only a foot off the ground. This class was lead by Katie. She began as Suzie had asking us while we were nestled in our swath of fabric how we were feeling, what had we brought with us, what was our intention today, what would we leave with, what would we take away from this experience. I began exactly the same way, my body wired tight, energy high, my aggitations, agravations, annoyances right there along for the ride. I closed my eyes and decided to be where I was now and to give my full attention to the present. Everything else could wait, better yet it could just dissipate and be gone.

From there I began to swing, I followed Katie’s guidance and moved from one posture into the other. I had fun and I listened to my body as it stretched and twisted and curled up into itself. The moment of Shavasana began and I was there – calm and present – relaxed, I had let go. I closed my eyes, I was grounded. There I could see Sam’s smile, I heard Willem taking a deep breath – I was there – Inner Peace.

The Warrior understands that to go beyond the earth plane
he or she will have to collect experiences.
By experiencing life, you become familiar with it;
by becoming familiar with it,
you go beyond fear.
Stuart Wilde

Thank you to Suzie and Katie for your calm, patience, expertise and gentle humour. Thank you for a new collection to my experiences that most assuredly have made me aware of my fear, challenging me to move beyond it and to arrive at Inner Peace.

Alma – the name I choice for my grandchildren to call me
Photos – Sand writing by children on St. Pete’s Beach Florida

Kung Fu Panda
Directed by; John Wayne Stevenson and Mark Osborne
Produced by; Dreamworks Animation
Po: Joe Black

Kung Fu Panda 2
Directed by; Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Produced by; Dreamworks Animation
Po: Joe Black

The Secrets of Life by; Stuart Wilde
On Collecting Experiences