by RENEE PATRICK Cascade A&E Editor

 

I measure time by how a body sways. ~ from Theodore Roethke’s poem I Knew a Woman

 

Have you experienced real flow before? To me flow can be a feeling that comes from gliding down the mountain on a powdery winter day, the movements effortless, the exhilaration sublime. Or when I’m working on an article and the words simply pour out onto the page of their own accord as if from some deep well of text I’m unaware of having tapped.

 

Flow is the ultimate state of being: the mind has room to explore, and often when I reach that place I get some of my best ideas or solve some of my most pressing problems.

 

Our cover artist Alisha Vernon spoke of the flow of painting when I met her in her studio. When listening to music while painting her cover piece, Painted Music, the tunes helped her enter a space of pure movement; the music enabled the flow.

 

I’ve discovered that time becomes distance when I reach that state. Many of you are aware that I’m getting ready for my long, long, long hike of the 3,000 mile Continental Divide Trail this spring, and one of the things I enjoy most about hiking for hours, days, weeks and months is the flow. My body moves perfectly at 3mph and after a few weeks on the trail I don’t have to think anymore. I step around rocks, over streams, and all the while I get to a very creative place where the movement enables a steady stream of ideas and some real deep thinking.

 

We all have different ways of reach that flow: music or movement are easy ways to tap into that space, and the results can be addicting. What gets you into the flow?

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