This morning I received a newsletter from an international writers association. In it the author proclaimed the arrival of her 50^th birthday and her plans to celebrate it by attending a yoga and meditation retreat in Bali. “Oh Bali! A yoga and meditation retreat, in Bali!” I swooned. “That is what I want” I could hear myself say. And with that I was gently launched into a clearer sense of connection with my deepest desires. How wonderful to gain that moment of clear knowing – that moment of connection with a deeper yearning that spontaneously revealed itself as a voice from my soul.

As I come to the end of an experimental autumn – one filled with the trappings of an old way of life - I find myself elated at the freedom that is blossoming in the wake of this experience. I see more clearly now, that the true art of life exists not in acquisition but rather in the choices that we make, in the balance that we achieve, and in the fulfillment that we cultivate in all that we do. This is not news to me and yet, it feels more real because I have shifted from simply knowing this intellectually, to living it as an embodied experience. It is becoming a part of me now.

I too, turn 50 this week and I enter it with an expanded sense of personal understanding. As I cross the threshold of this milestone birthday, I do so with a conscious desire for celebration and retreat from the rigors of an unconscious life. As I cross this threshold, I prepare myself for pilgrimage to the “lost” city of the Incas. How symbolic, that as I work to reclaim my soul’s desire, I do so through the rediscovery of all that has been seemingly lost and concealed from my awareness. Beautiful.