The beach was cool and dark.  The brilliant moon stood blazing in the blackest of skies.  Stars glittered across the expanse of heaven, with the Milky Way clearly visible to my naked eye.

The waves lapped calmly against the white sand, and the breeze kissed my cheek and swirled my long white cloak.

I saw a dark shape approaching in the waves offshore.  A large turtle!  As it swam in on the swell, I could see the shimmer of his shell, green and glossy in the wet.  He came ashore and calmly approached me as I stood on the border of wet and dry sands.  The look in his eye wordlessly asked me to come with him.

After a pause to look again at the bright moon, I acquiesced and moved with him back to the water’s edge.

It was clear to me that the great turtle wanted me to climb onto his back and come with him into the water.  Under normal circumstances – I might have felt trepidation at this idea, but in the dreamworld of the night darkened beach – it all seemed to make perfect sense.

The shell scales which glistened so wetly in the white moonlight were made of malachite!  I climbed onto the wet, warm turtle shell and he carefully re-entered the waves as I knelt upon his great back.

*****

encountering the great swell

riding the wave across the boundless ocean

feeling the pull of the moon

seeing the ridge of the wave – feeling the spinning hoop of the tide

losing all sight of land – feeling as if the entire planet was a water drop moving through space

feeling the dance of the moon with the planet – the eternal spinning of partnership

feeling the circle we make around the sun

feeling the warp and weft of the solar system, and how it itself is spinning around some great center

feeling the pull of the galactic center on the sun and the spins within spins

feeling the starlight upon my face – suns of great size and fire in their own rights – made gentle by time and distance

looking down and seeing all the turtles – they get bigger and bigger as what they are carrying increases as well

feeling the very galaxy moving through space

feeling the dance of the circles and of the way the spinning coordinates smaller within greater

coming back into myself and feeling the connection between me and my turtle

feeling the stillness inside of myself amidst all the spinning

feeling the light of the moon pulling at the lightness inside of me

feeling the dark of the ocean and the undulation of the wave in the water

feeling the dark, cool of the planet pulling at the darkness inside of me

feeling the dance of the light and the dark in my breath cycle

feeling the suspension of time in the space of the boundless ocean

standing up upon the back of my turtle and reaching for the moon

spinning around and around, swirling my cloak upon the breeze that is blowing us forward

one hand raised still to the moon, the other reaching down for the dark water below

feeling that all that exists is me, my turtle, and this wave – both still and moving so fast!

being at peace in this limerance

*****

although the feeling is one of great stillness, suddenly I see a light ahead of me in the ocean.  land, lit by the sun.  perhaps another beach?  is it the one we have left behind?  or is it a new place all together?  I cannot tell.

we approach at great speed.  the ocean lightens as the seafloor rushes up to meet us at the edge of this new place.  the swell begins to break.  still standing, the turtle catches the top ridge of the swell, then with his feet – pushes us forward dropping onto the opening face of the breaking wave.  we surf together – feeling the amazing power of the water beneath us.  riding the great swell that has brought us across time and space, across the boundless ocean to a new land.

the beach approaches and the wave curl disperses.  we come upon the sand gently, and the great turtle takes me onto the land.  a brief pause, then I step down from the turtles back and turn back to look at him.

with a timeless knowing and great intelligence in his eye, he looks back at me.  I bow with reverence – thanking him for the journey he has carried me on.  my heart is full.  he inclines his head in return and I know he has followed whatever purpose he follows by bringing me here to this new place.  i feel a thanks and a release of all the places i have left behind me on my old shore.

the moon still shines overhead, but is now closer to the horizon of the new land.  the stars sparkle down on me – newly close friends of mine, their light clean and silver and bright.  the breeze still blows, but is turning and bringing to my nose the scents of this new place – wherever it may be.  i feel time begin once again.

i have crossed over.  i begin again.

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