Power. Brought To You By The Number Eight

Last week, on one of those perfect summer mornings when the air is so clear it tastes like water, I was sitting on my deck with my eyes closed, soaking in the early morning peace. Waves murmured on the shore below, and the whistle-chitter of thrushes echoed from tree to tree.

Then the skin on my scalp prickled and my eyes flew open. No more than thirty feet away, eight golden eagles flew by, silent and powerful, skimming the treetops from west to east. Startled, I wondered if I’d imagined them, their magnificent wings lit by the morning sun, their lovely, silent flight.

They turned around and wheeled over the bay from east to west, then headed east again, along the exact same flight path they’d followed before. Their nine-foot wings rippled through the air just yards away from where I sat, spellbound. They made no sound, just flew silently by in a ragged, heart-stopping line.

For a long moment, I forgot to breathe. All the hairs on my arms and along the back of my neck prickled, electrified.

One more time, the eight eagles circled around and flew past.

Then they disappeared over the treetops, into the clear blue sky.

There isn’t really a point to this story.

Just the beauty of these wild creatures, their flight, their freedom. Power. Joy in action.

All week, I’ve been breathing in these qualities. Finding them in myself. In my clients. Remembering, in my body, those great wings lit by the sun.