Steve Frankel

Lion King

My elder journey started at age 8 or 9 on the shore of the Atlantic. Waves crashing and a deep, dark sky unveiling zillions of stars it seemed. And looking up, a wave of feeling moved through me and I clothed it with the words, “I am so small.” And then another current sent chills through me – “I am so large.” And from that moment – some part of me knew that the world everyone was telling me I lived in – was only a small part of what was really happening. I was beginning to “remember.”

You see me with Silas West, my 3-year-old grandson – welcoming the morning with our native flutes. It was on a trip heading west for my 60th birthday, that I was gifted my first flute – and now it provides for me a powerful symbol of my connection with all that is. I hold and play it to join voices with Nature all around in acknowledging and appreciating the invisible currents at play in our world – that atmosphere that surrounds and supports my experiencing the TRUTH that this LIFE is amazing! So, I look at my grandson – his trusting presence, his eyes aglow at all he sees – and I ask, “What can I provide to establish a place for his ongoing openness of heart and deep joy?”

For me it’s about being true to, my texture of soul – to vulnerably and honorably reveal that. And a big part of that for me – is assisting others to be EXTRAVAGANTLY themselves as well. I want for him to know, as I increasingly do – that here where I am – I have a home, I am home – among the stars.