So it snowed about two feet in our lovely mountain town today. Though snow in November is not unprecedented in Bozeman, this much snow so early is unusual.
Not only was the snow an exceptionally deep fall for so early, it was very wet. Giant limbs were broken all over, lying in the street. The town looked like a shocked disaster zone, or a winter wonderland at its fullest, the snow heavy, thick, packed down, and blazing shimmering white. Cars crawled by and clients called to double check I would be able to make it to the office. People were skiing out front doors to the trails, and walking through town was practically a 5th class adventure with giant snow tunnels lining the streets and sidewalks. Mini-peak ascents were required just to climb over the edge of a plowed sidewalk to the cross the street. I kicked steps more than once. I may or may not have slipped and fallen.
On my early morning walk to work, I caught the bluebird sunrise (did I mention the bright blue sky today?) and would have skipped to the office, so stunned by the beauty beyond feeling shocked by the intensity of the storm, had all the streets and sidewalks not been covered with the initial layer of last night's storm - several inches of freezing rain. I picked my way through the thick, wet, slippery mess as quickly as safely possible.
Running just a few minutes late already, I was feeling a little stressed about the added time it was taking to get to work. I happened to walk past two young women trying to get their stuck car moving. Though conscious of the time, I could not pass someone in need on a day like today. Besides being in the aftermath of a serious storm, it was cold. I asked if they needed a hand, and right at the same time a young gentleman pulled over and asked the same. Before we unstuck her car, I took a look at the layer of varying degrees of frozen water from which she was trying to get unstuck, and I commented that her car should get out easily. Afterall, it was an SUV on a patch of not-that-bad looking ice and snow and slush. Really, not bad at all. I wondered why she was even stuck.
"But her car is two wheel drive," the woman standing next to me commented. "She just moved from Texas, and they don't need four wheel drive there."
"Ohhhhhh."
Roughly half a minute later we joined forces pushing and unstuck her car, and their grateful looks were so animated I could almost read their minds. "Whoa. Thanks. That was unbelievable. What a great place I just landed in."
Yes, this community is great. It was hard for both of us to take the time to stop and help, but none of us knew each other and we both did it in a heartbeat. But we are also fast paced in this town, like everywhere else. We two helpers almost immediately started running on our ways, back to our busy lives. For a moment though I stopped running around - simply doing what needed to be done, and what one must do if possible in our great little town - and remembered the ability to move slower, but only once I started running again, only after the pause. I needed that pause.
I love offering those pauses as part of the work I do. We all need it. I need it! Even as a massage therapist who must take time to be present during every session of the day, it is easy to lose sight of the stillness when I return to the rush of the world outside. We live in fast-paced times. Not only is our economic reality as a whole steadily shredding at the seams, the pace of our common livestyle and concurrent stress level is dazing. Exhausting. And so difficult to escape. It is so difficult to return to our simple present selves. And yet that return is so important.
Don't we all dream of putting our lives to purpose? Connecting meaningfully with others? Feeling stillness, relaxed, focused, peaceful, taking a breath and paying attention, for even just a few moments? Doesn't it feel good even just thinking about it? Breathe.
Providing all that is one reason I love the work I do. Massage is many things, and it is as complex perhaps as the massage therapist is skilled and involved. It is treatment for muskulo-skeletal issues, performance enhancer for athletes, post-operative prescription, a chance to relax. It is also a moment to one's self, given to opportunity to stop all else and simply be. That moment with the stuck women this morning felt like the moments I spend during massages simply being present with clients - listening to bodies and tuning in to tension, imbalance, and misalignment, doing what I can to help. I love those moments and feel grateful for the opportunity to gain - and give - so much. I love being simply present, and in turn I love offering an extended break from our fast-paced lives and the opportunity to turn inward.
Ah massage.
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