I remember a time in my youth when my dad asked, "If you could be any animal, which one would you choose?" I thought first of the wildcats. Then I considered the horse, and other animals with hooves. And I seem to remember my original answer: a deer.

Now I ask you: Which one would you choose?

After my brother and I answered this question, my dad told us his answer: a golden eagle. He justified this, telling us about the way the eagle flies to the heights. He told us about an eagle he'd seen, catching a trout in his talons and bringing the fish sky-high. Afterward, I knew that the eagle is the animal I would choose too.

To me, the eagle represents awakening. The eagle spirit seems to bring me keen vision and awareness of my surroundings from a higher level, improving my ability to see the big picture of life. This awakening comes with creative insight and inspiration, with my higher self here to guide. Through the symbol of the eagle, I ascend to a higher level of existence, where I awaken to the ultimate expression of who I am.

Later in my life, I received further bird inspiration through a National Geographic magazine article about flamingos. In the story, it showed a photo with hundreds of flamingos flocking together at an icy mountain lake. The story described a flamingo migration to this high-altitude place, where the flamingos huddle close together, lasting through the night with their legs frozen in the water. How romantic! Am I right?

This is the story that prompted the song you hear here. This song helped me through a time of transition, when I decided on a whim to move to Austin. This demanded a temporary end to some close connections I'd created in my former hometown, and I thought of these friends as I wished for another enduring conversation, holding them close to my heart, cherishing them.

In the song, I envision myself as a flamingo, an eagle, and a seagull. The part about the seagull is inspired by the book, Jonathan Livingston Seagull. If you're familiar with this story, you know that Jonathan's flock asks him to leave, because he is disrupting the other birds with his fanciful flying. My song imagines another seagull joining Jonathan on these flights, delighting in each other's company as they sail away asea.

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“Climb Into Another Lifetime”

The Song

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The Lyrics

May I be a flamingo
In my next life
May the same be true for you
May you know me and I know you too
May the two of us take a trip
To a coolish mountain lake
Where our reflections ripple pinkly
As we wade
Until our legs become trapped
In the water when it freezes at night
Beaks facing each other
Our breaths defrosting each other’s eyes
Dipping into the depths of our innermost abysses
As we talk
Until we climb into another lifetime

May I be an eagle
In my next, next life
May you know me
May the style of your knowing be closely
May you be even closer to me than
The eggshell I am born in
May we play like squirrels in an evergreen
Neighbors to some pinecones
Until we find a home in a fine pine tree
Dip knee deep in some pine sap
Share a sticky branch up at the top
Glue our feet to our favorite spot
Allowing time for a transcendental conversation
As we talk
Until we climb into another lifetime

May I be a seagull
In my next, next, next life
May I know you once again
May you be my best, best friend
May the two of us learn to offend
All the other rascals in our seagull flock
Until they ask us both to leave
May they beg us to leave
Until we follow the sun west
Heading out over the middle of the ocean
Faster than a hummingbird’s heartbeat
Stronger than an ostrich’s footprint
More flashy than a peacock courting his peahen
Grinning like a penguin sliding down an iceberg
Chasing that sun until the night falls and we follow
As we talk
Until we climb into another lifetime

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The Acknowledgements

I'm grateful to @luzcypher and @pfunk for bringing us the #openmic community challenge, week after week. This event lights me up. I appreciate this invitation to express myself creatively. And I honor the community-wide celebration of the arts. I feel encouraged by the growth I see in the people who participate in these events, including myself. Thanks to all of you for accepting me as a member of your tribe.

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This post contains 100% original content by @cabelindsay.