The Journey Begins

From The ‘Dream Series’

By Stacie W Beliveau
 E very journey has a beginning, but only a few have an end. In this way,

this journey is no different. One day it will end, but you will never know it.
The water flowed so quickly along the river, and the two canoes were not
equal in anything that was important. There was a long one, and a short one.
There were four people in the long one, and one person in the short one. The four
paddlers had oars, the one person had a stick. This was a race? What was the
goal? Where was the goal? But no matter how difficult and ridiculous the
differences were, both canoe occupants tried their very best to beat the other.
The swift water helped a great deal, but at the same time, it gave equal
conditions to both side, so where was the real help? The only thing that really was
in my favor against the four was that their combined weight caused their canoe to
sit lower in the water, so their paddling had to compensate for their weight.
But my advantage of less weight made my canoe sit higher in the water, but
with only a stick for a paddle, I had to paddle four times as much to compensate for
the lack of a good oar!
I tried so hard to get ahead, to get in front, to be first, even though I had no
idea where I was headed. But when I saw the castle walls before me, and the
water siphoning into the tunnel, I suddenly realized that I was in the lead, as the
trailing canoe sunk lower and lower into the rushing water.
I allowed the current to take my canoe into the wide crevice, and enjoyed
looking at the bricks towering above me. I love architecture, but mostly when
made of earthen materials such as brick, clay, sand and wood. This structure had a
solid base, it was the underground of a large castle, and I was going in with a smile
spread across my face.
And then I realized that the castle was me, I was already there, and by
floating with the river flowing into the structure, it was actually my awareness and
my willingness to explore myself, from the foundation up. No wonder I was so
comfortable, I was at my own core, and so far it looked very healthy and strong.
 And so the journey began, and the healing would have to come as it would,
skipping events and shelving them until I am strong enough to look at them,
dissect them, and incorporate them into who I am. Sometimes scary, sometimes
welcomed and fun, but both necessary.
This is a journey I will win.