I met a woman by the River. When I first caught site of her she had a look of amazement; wild eyed and walking in an apparent daze. She looked as though she was overwhelmed with the exhilarating beauty of nature around her.

I got to talking to her and she told me how she had come because she had heard rumors about how amazing it was and wanted to experience it for herself.

She told me how for a while she had been trying to get her friend to go with her, but her friend wouldn't go because she was worried she would slip and fall in, even after she reassured her friend that there were "security measures; gates; fences."

She told me how she tried to get her husband to go with her but he would just tell her that he just wanted to stay home. As she told me this she made this dismissive gesture, fanning off the negativity of those who were close to her with a wave of her hand, alluding to how eventually fed up she was before she decided to go by herself.

She went on about her disbelief; trying to express how she felt in that moment. I could tell she was glad to have someone to share the experience with, just as I was.

I told her I was glad she came.

While she may not have been able to entirely explain why she was so elated, I could tell that it wasn't just the immense beauty and grandeur of the scene unfolding about us, but also that the scene was a metaphor for her experience of life; of love.

All through life we try to plan things and make those plans become real so that we have a sense of ease about where life is going; the comfort of the familiar; the affirmation; validation. We want to surround ourselves with company who make the experience of our lives more comfortable; more relateable, which is natural; meaningful, until, as in the case of my new friend, those people are not receptive to your attempts to relate; no longer desire to share an experience that facilitates deeper connection.

In the back of our minds we know that in the grand scheme of things, we have no control over the outcome, no choices to make us feel secure, but we play this charade regardless.

We limit our experience to limitless possibility by not developing deeper connection with ourselves; with those in our company; with those outside of our comfort zone; confining ourselves to plans we believe engineer and optimize our life for whatever we have in our minds at the time is valuable, never bothering to check back in to determine if the same things are still of value; if the means are becoming the ends; never bothering to go deeper to discover why we assigned value to certain things; if there might be "engineering" that is more in line with the natural course of our lives that will make us feel more fulfilled; more connected; more attuned and valid.

This woman was not just enamored with the entrancing power of the rushing water; the electric vapor in the air rushing through her lungs. She had early on made the decision to go down to the river of her life when she began to explore her inner desire for deeper experience; the subtle, powerful yearning for something to pierce through the barriers barring her from the fulfillment for which she longed.

She was just now experiencing the watershed moment of surrender; of allowing the current to wash her over, no longer holding herself back for an illusory version of herself; for validation of relationships with people who don't care to relate. Up-anchor and down stream she felt the relief of surrender to her self; of being carried away by something that she could never plan or control; something she could never fully understand.

She felt love. She was filled with love; with appreciation.

I watched her as she walked back to her car, pausing to collect herself. I could feel she was eager to return to her life to share her experience with those whom she loved; whom she was sorry wouldn't make the trip with her; couldn't make the trip with her. I could feel she was also disappointed that she was going back to the boundaries from which she so desperately wanted to escape; the comforts of the familiar.

I knew, however, whether she was aware of it or not, she was already caste away and on the journey of a lifetime, from which there would be no return; I knew that she was forever changed by her trip to the falls and encouraged that next time, with her experience as inspiration, she might bring some more friends who will experience that fulfillment and connection; that vivid clarity of life; perspective, and set sail on their journey once more, together, with old friends.