The Moment He Floated Free

Sometimes liberation arrives quietly.
Sometimes it comes in a single breath, in a moment when the body finally feels safe enough to let go.
This poem explores the tender edge between joy and doubt, safety and fear, and the beautiful moment a person feels themselves float free—held by nature, breath, and the depth of their own healing.

And also the trees swayed with their branches
to welcome him.
And also the trees swirled with their leaves
to welcome him.

With his wide smile and wet eyes, he entered.
He entered with a deep sense of joy and
doubt.
Joy and doubt. Joy and doubt.

Joy of liberation. Joy from safety.
Joy from the liberation of unsafety
that has shadowed him lifelong.
Joy from the deep release
that’s just been liberated
after a life sentence.

Joy and doubt. Joy and doubt.
Could this really be it?
Could this really be the feeling of liberation?
Could it be the feeling of safety
and the liberation from it?

Have I truly been liberated from it?
Or might I have liberated myself
off those chains?

No, no, I am not.
It is temporary, it won’t last.
No, no, I am illusive,
it is illusive, life is illusive.

No, no, it can’t be.
For if it is,
who am I now, then?

And also the waves hugged one another
and embraced themselves
the ocean in celebration.

They celebrated his arrival,
his joy and his doubt.

They have traveled
from the depth of themselves
to the shores in ultimate happiness.

They have traveled with pleasure and joy
to show their glamour for such an occasion.
They have traveled with gratitude
and humility
for the liberated one.

His face lit up,
his lips drew a wide smile,
and his body brightened
with excitement.

He saw the ocean coming to him,
the trees swaying for him,
and his own freedom
from his unsafe feeling
leaving him.

He saw,
he felt,
he closed his eyes
and he breathed.

He breathed the love,
the joy,
the softness of the trees
and the ocean.

He breathed the oneness
of all that there was,
is,
and will be.

He breathed with such liberation,
his abdomen relaxed,
his breath became lighter,
and his hands unwrapped.

He breathed,
and for a moment
his whole being felt floating.

Floating with nothing pulling it down
no baggage,
no precipitate,
no attachment.

For just a moment,
he felt freedom in its deepest forms.
Just for a moment.

Enjoy my other reads:

Learning to Love the Self That Suffers. On this link.

Finding Love and the Journey and the Road. On this link.

How to Transform Self-Sabotage with Mindfulness and Love? On this link.

Emotional Identity and Pain: Who Are You Without the Struggle? On this link.

External Resources:

Zen & Engaged Buddhism:

Plum Village 

EIAB