The Vortex at Leba

There are moments in our lives which define, encompass and move us into the truth of who we are. They appear when we become aware of them and then they disappear. The reason they disappear is so that the next moment can be experienced. One such moment happened when we were visiting our son and his family in Poland. During the Covid lockdown of 2020, they emigrated to Gdańsk, a vibrant and prosperous Polish city on the Baltic Sea. When we arrived, it was all smiles and hugs - after all we hadn’t seen them for two years. This was an unforgettable moment of connection and reuniting. It was a love dance.

They moved to Poland to follow their dreams. Life had become very difficult for them in Los Angeles what with the pandemic, job insecurity, political unrest, etc. No matter what they did, it was just one big struggle. It was not always this way. My children had simply reached a point in their lives where change was beckoning. It was time to listen to that inside voice inside, time to surrender to that and let Spirit decide what is best. Two years later, they picked us up at the Gdansk Airport and we celebrated, laughed and enjoyed each other. This was one of those moments.

The invitation to change is not always clear at first, so the universe provides experiences to help bring us into the consciousness that allows and says “yes” to the new. At first, there are gentle prods - the idea of being where the sun shines and love fills us with Joy, calming the searching soul with the wonder of new experiences. Meanwhile, other experiences try to pull us back into whatever keeps us feeling safe and comfortable. Essentially, there are two ways of being once we become aware of them as choices available to us. We can go forward with no expectations, allowing the universe to pull us into change; or we can stay in the safety and comfort of no change. When we stay in safety and comfort, growth and change can become stagnant. An example is the ingrown toenail. When it’s outward growth is hampered, it begins to grow inward. This can result in pain as we attempt to rectify the problem.When we choose to allow new possibilities, exuberant existence becomes our reality. If we do not choose anything, havoc appears at first as a boat gently floating on the sea, but quickly ramps up until it becomes a tempest, pushing us into an hellish existence, taking all until nothing is left. When my son and his family moved to Poland, the tempest was threatening their very lives. In fact, that tempest picked them up and blew them out of the trap they perceived they were in. It was one of those turning point moments in their lives which propelled them forward. There were no expectations, just a “knowing” that this was the right thing to do. This was one such moment.

During our stay, we went to to Łeba, a beach resort city on the Baltic akin to Manhattan Beach in California or Coney Island in New York. Restaurants, bars, museums, ice cream parlors, etc. abounded, block after block. On our second day there, we woke up and talked about going to the aquarium to see all the sea creatures that live in the area. Next thing I knew, we’re on our way, driving, I thought to the aquarium; but Dorota, our daughter-in-law, had something else up her sleeve. Turns out, we were not headed to the aquarium after all; we were on our way to Slowinsky National Park, referred to by the locals as the Sand Dunes of Łeba.

We got there early and easily found a parking space. The park entrance was typical - more shops and cafés filled with tourists. Children were everywhere. We bought our tickets and began our 3 mile ascent up to the dunes. The path was gentle at first, taking us through the primeval forest, full of delightful sounds and sights. We could have taken a bus up to where the sand begins, but we chose to walk. Finally we got to the sand dunes; the path disappeared and became sand, making our trek harder and harder, taking us higher and higher until we just collapsed into the sand right where the terrain seemed to turn to the right. We could simply not go any further.

When I finally opened my eyes, I looked up at the sky. The clouds were swirling around the bright sun like dancers in a circle propelled by the wind. At the same time, the tidal movements of the Baltic Sea along with the wind created an eliptical outline connecting the water to the clouds to the wind to the forest to the sky. I realized I was in a natural vortex where earth, and sky meet, bordered by primeval forest on the west and water on the rest. All the elements were present in this divine configuration. At that moment, I knew I was in the presence of something greater than I. Spirit revealed and I listened. This was a moment of connection, revealing a portal to a greater consciousness of the oneness that we truly are.