An enthusiastic and naïve seagull swoops down on a tiny fish sparkling near the surface of the softly rippling waves.

It eagerly dives in and grasps the silvery treasure.

A simple maneuver performed hundreds of times in the past turns immediately to struggle as a hook and clear line at the end of a poll entangle the unsuspecting.

Soon the sky fills as the silent call for help produces a furry of circling, screeching, and diving.

All are now hovering, pensively and purposefully.

A shirt comes off to cover the bird as nimble hands work to untangle the lines.

The air is filled with insecurity and uncertainty.

A cloud of judgment forms.

It is the bird’s fault.

It is the fisherman’s fault.

They are saving the bird.

They are hurting the bird.

All is a swirl in the energetic exchange of emotions and actions.

Soon there is a release, a cutting free, a letting go.

And none are left untarnished.

There is not an immediate sense of relief as one might expect.

Heads hang heavy, perhaps even filled with shame and remorse.

The drenched shirt, the cut line, the disheveled demeanor of all reminds us that even when the urgent rescue and the struggle dissolve,

There is a residual current of pain that must be allowed to dissipate and transform.

Even in the shortest-lived trauma, there must be a space following for grief, loss, and healing.

No participant in this event is untouched.

Only those who feel fully, surrender to the flood of intense sensations, and tend the wounds of the entanglement will be fully free.

A period of rest and repair is needed for all.

Shaking,

pruning,

pacing,

sounding,

slowing down,

and reconnecting

to the earth,

the water,

and the air,

each participant is offered a blanket of grace, compassion, and love to wrap around them in order for the judgment, fear, shame, and pain to subside.

In due time, as they forgive one another, they once more wander the edge of the sea, seeking nourishment, seeing differently, and feeling a part of something greater,

a net of seemingly invisible lines meant to connect and secure us, and sometimes harrowingly entangling,

always informing and forming

who we are,

where we go,

and how we get there.