"That's really reaching..!" As you can see from the picture of the ostrich and me, both of us were. How often all of us have heard that phrase, 'really reaching' from people who like to play it safe, keep our imagination in check, stick to the tried & true - in other words, live a life that's predictable, small and boring as hell!

 

Beginning in the Fall of 2008, I found myself 'really reaching'. I enrolled in a first course through Cherry Hill Seminary, pursuing a public ministry program for Pagans. CHS just got approval for their Masters program, after many years of effort. Yes, every time we 'really reach', there are obstacles to surmount. Though the coursework for my Boundaries & Ethics class was outstanding and the textbooks superb, I discovered that the student service aspect of CHS was still catching up. I kept on reaching, past some admissions opposition to my not having a Bachelors Degree in hand yet, glitches in Pay Pal, and class instructions and expectations that were continually clarified as the class went on. Through CHS, I learned to always try to purchase textbooks from Amazon - that has saved me a bundle! I knocked myself out to successfully reach the end of that course, and this summer, will be reaching for the next one. This December, I will also be reaching for my cap and gown as I prepare to graduate from the Womens Studies Program at ASU West.

 

It was 'really reaching' when I went on the CUUPS email list and posted a need for a Pagan illustrator to work on my children's story, Cookie Cutter Magic, to be released independently this Summer '09, but a hand went up and I found an artist who could 'see' what I wrote. It will be so exciting to see my tale told in full color, with characters coming to life!

 

I never knew how far we really were 'reaching' when this year's UU Pacific Southwest District Assembly, to be held in May '09 in Mesa, AZ, decided to include an Alternative Worship Service in their conference line-up. I have written the ceremony, themed towards weaving together dreams, hopes and possibilities, and since it will be performed on May 1st, there will be a Maypole with colorful streamers and flowers. After the weaving, closing words will be offered along with a food communion of strawberries and other spring fruits. Last weekend, I learned that this is the first official year for a planned Alternative Worship Service to be on the schedule. The previous one was a last minute addition, honoring one faith group's request. Finding music for the 'Weaving Our Dreams' service for this year was quite a 'reach' too. I fell in love with a tune called 'Rising Green' from one of the UU songbooks, couldn't quite get the melody. A musical friend at our West Valley UU Church had connections though, and soon a cd arrived with the piece on it, from several states away.

 

What else am I reaching for this year? My tutoring in Norse language and culture, in preparation for a visit to my son, daughter-in-law and new granddaughter in Larvik Norway, will begin tomorrow. I hope I've been rightly led in hearing that Norsk is a Germanic language and has a common sound. That would be terrific, as I took four years of German between high school and college.

 

I am reaching for more information and involvement in something called 'threshold singing' that was referenced in an email from a balladeer friend in Washington State. The premise is that the human voice was the very first instrument, and there is something innately soothing in being softly sung to. The 'threshold' aspect refers to those sung for, who are beginning the journey from life into death and the mystery beyond. I would imagine that in as much as possible, one would sing 'their songs', the tunes they grew up with or relate to, whether hymns or secular songs. My friend's mention of this resonated in my soul, and I must know more.

 

I am reaching for really good books, whose acquaintance I have to make. I just joined Path of the Craft's book discussion group to get some title suggestions, and am now happily chuckling through 'Lamb: The Story of Jesus, as told by Christ's childhood pal Biff'. Next, I plan to check out a copy of The Lace Reader, a book whose description on Amazon.com really intrigued me.

 

I am reaching for connection, both new and renewed, and reaching for good food, fine conversation, a match to light the myriad house candles and to kindle the spark of our hearth fire. I am reaching a year into the future, with my good friend Storm, to sculpt a vision of a one-day Goddess conference, to be held in Arizona in March of '09.

 

What do I hope I won't be reaching for often? The stun gun my husband Dan got me for Christmas, although the sparks it throws are mighty pretty and I feel quite empowered possessing it. In the hopes that I won't be reaching for Calamine lotion to daub on poison ivy ever again, I have defected from the ranks of campers and have become something far more cushy - a cabiner!

 

Whatever you yearn for, aspire to, or just plain would like to take a closer look at, I encourage you to reach for it. Don't be timid, don't be politically correct. Lunge for it, go off in hot pursuit, wrap your head and heart and both hands around it. Look it in the eye and see what it's all about. Now that's 'really reaching!'

 

- Bronwynn Forrest Torgerson, January 2009 -