Learning to swim

Sitting on the hot asphalt blacktop in miles of traffic, feeling lost and alone. People around me doing the same, everyone seems so sullen and confused. Cell phone junkies don't know if its day or night in their mundane lives, I guess not much matters anymore. My mind drifts from one thought to another, thinking what's it all for - this life? Light turns green but I'm not sure I am going in the right direction to begin with. It caught my eye, a shadow overhead that had huge wings - a bird. An Albatross in the city? Where did it come from? I was intrigued as no one else saw him. Making my way through lanes of cars I tried to follow this elegant creature; I wanted to fly with him. He was never out of my sight as if he wanted me to follow, and that I did. The outside world disappeared as he guided through winding roads and the hustle of urban decay. My window down, I could smell the oceans salty breeze, but how? I don't live close to the ocean. He was pulling me past trials and troubles of the day to day to something more important, but what? This sea bird had led me to the water's edge, sitting like a beacon of hope on the beautiful beach wall. He wanted to pull me through its opening to the sand. He flew low towards the tides as I followed. The shoreline was devoid of people except me and him, the water wetting his feet. He looked at me as if knowing all along where to take me. We locked eyes and then he beckoned me as his wings carried him towards the sunset horizon with grace. I waded into the ocean as the waves washed away feelings of doubt. My troubles were gone from me. No past, no future, just the present being one with what he was trying to convey to me. As he faded across the skyline the setting sun glittered across the ocean and me like golden embers. I now understand what he was trying to show me; it had been there all along. But where? The answer to where is the vastness of your heart. He was a messenger of an otherworldly kind. Follow your heart and the Albatross will lead you home, a home inside yourself. I shed a tear of joy and thanked him for his actions. I saw his reflection against the water as I began learning to swim again. After all these years now, I can touch my dreams and hear the voice of the waves speak....