Stelpukraftur!

(Girl power! Powerful women!)

Nicknamed clowns of the sea they remind me of the giddy Behavior at the girls driving along the Ring Road between Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss waterfalls in Iceland with four van loads of girls, we came across a fence of bras. Not just a few bras, but hundreds of them. At first we drove right by.

“Wait! What did we just see?”

One van load of girls from Girl Scout Troop 630 rarely misses opportunities. Four van loads never miss such details. THIS required more investigation. We pulled off to the side of the road. “BRAS!”

Like kittens to catnip, these High Schoolers ran to the fence to explore. Some immediately began making a deposit. Think about this, we’re on a highway carefully disrobing without disrobing so that our American bra contribution could proudly be displayed. I think what I loved most about what I was witnessing with these girls is their LACK of hesitancy. They were THRILLED to release themselves from the bindings of their bras! This spontaneous gesture, this Icelandic contribution acted as if we were all participating in an ancient Icelandic ritual, a sign of passage, an offering into a portal of new beginnings. Of course I joined them! We couldn’t stop laughing. (This is what we really do best, we laugh too much. Sometimes it bothers the other co-leaders, but it never really stops us from continuing until we have it out of our system). Laughing helps us feel WELL.

Everything in Iceland is different from what we have been accustomed to; and none of the differences appears to disrupt our comfort. For example, listening to the GPS voice pronounce Icelandic directions was hysterical. We named her “Shirl” (as in an abbreviation to ‘Shirley’) and we accepted her demise of mis-pronouncing streets and highways; butchering pronouns with too many consonants and not enough vowels. However, “Shirl” never became frustrated. After a while, we simply relied on the visual directions from the map and not the audio unless, of course, we needed a good laugh.

One of the girls read aloud on Google, “The first bra was placed along the fence around 2012. However, no one truly knows how this tradition got started. Rumor has it that after a party in which several bras were stolen, they were later strewn along the fence. Ever since, travelers have been adding their bras to the fence, growing the collection substantially over the years.”

Another girl asks, “Why would anyone steal bras and then hang them on a fence?” Logical inquiry. But then why, many years later, did we take off our own bras and hang them on the same fence?

“Brjóstahaldarar” Another girl calls out. “That’s ‘Bra’ in Icelandic!” She giggles and then comments that it’s funny that such a small word in English is such a long word in Icelandic. Another girl looks back observing the hundreds of donated undergarments, “Maybe it’s a bigger word because they’re bigger bras” Not quite fully understanding, we collectively look back to what she may be referencing - and then we see it! “Those bras are HUGE!” Rapturous giggles.

Resuming our travels, the van becomes quiet for a moment as we take in the fluorescent shades of greens in the rolling hills, the mist in the air pregnant with possibility, and - yes - yet another impossibly perfect waterfall. We’ve traveled 3,788 miles in just under 12 hours to reach this Nordic island nation defined by its dramatic landscape of volcanoes, geysers, hot springs and lava fields. We planned an agenda around visiting most everything Iceland has to offer: From massive glaciers that are protected in Vatnajökull and Snæfellsjökull national parks to celebrating “Viking Day” complete with an ancient reenactment battle of two Viking clans (This was awesome!).

We’ve come to expand beyond our comfort zone only to discover that we’re not uncomfortable! For reasons not yet completely understood, we were finding comfort in the discomfort by allowing the unknown, unplanned, unscheduled in. We were living in the moment.

“Adventure is out there!”

“The real adventure of life is the relationship we have with other people.” Now the girls are reading quotes from the movie UP! They have officially determined that we have landed in Paradise Falls and with that their awe-inspiring ability - to connect points of interests, conversations, observations, WHATEVER to the movie continues while we travel toward our next adventure. They continue by playing newly discovered Icelandic music over their iPhones and then compare it to more familiar American music and then overlay that with more quotes from UP!

They particularly love quotes from Dug, the affable talking dog.

“I was hiding under your porch because I love you.”

“I do not like the cone of shame”

Closing with the infamous, “Squirrel!”

“Squirrel!” later becomes a theme throughout the entire 10-day Icelandic adventure, aptly describing the ever-distracted yet keenly-focused “Girl Power!” or “Stelpukraftur!” as they frequently remind me.

Icelandic landscapes are shaped by the forces of nature. The four basic elements (temperaments) are present here: Air (connection to universal life force), Earth (connection to life path), Fire (connection to personal power - transformation), and Water (emotional release and inner reflection). Someone in the van described Iceland as a mixture of Hawaii with Ireland and Alaska. All the science can be explained away logically; it is a formation of land expanding from an underlain hot spot in the earth’s mantle. The hotspot is produced by a plume of hotter and less dense material within the earth's mantle, similar to the processes we have already seen in Hawai'i.

“It’s like that group..” one of the girls yells out simultaneously googling ‘four basic elements music group’, another continues to quote lines from UP, while a third fiddles with our GPS app manipulating ‘Shirl’s’ GPS voice (I didn’t even know that was possible!). Before I know it, EARTH, WIND A FIRE is playing on volume 11 Sing a Song and ‘Shirl’s’ voice has been muted. I swear, the van did not just vibrate to the vocals of Maurice White, but bounced like Mr. Fredrickson’s balloon house on it’s way to Paradise Falls along the Ring Road of Iceland.

Could the ether of transformation already have begun?

As we ingest foods from ancient grounds derived from the ocean influenced by the fire of the earth’s core, have we begun the process of cleansing our body without even being aware of it? It took us 18 months to geographically plan this trip. In that planning, we accounted for understanding and preparing regional foods, working with local Scouts to understand local communities, and exploring the vast Scientific offerings of Iceland. I once read that depending upon the toxicity of the body, it can take anywhere from 3 to 10 days for the ‘typical’ body to be cleansed from foods it may be accustomed to. My sense is that we were not simply being reactionary to our new surroundings, but rather ingesting through our 5 senses the elements offered while circumnavigating along the Ring Road of Iceland.

In UP, Carl Fredricksen signifies the difficulties that people face when trying to move on, as well as the challenges they will have if they don't; everyone has the capability to accept their past, no matter how impossible it may seem.

Before leaving Salt Lake City, we met with each parent. Each parent made suggestions on how to help their child if they became overwhelmed, anxious or if a conflict should occur. A bright group of teenaged Girl Scouts were joining us on our journey nearly 4,000 miles away, an eclectic group at that. Affected by our political, environmental and civic justice times, we were instructed with a long list of remedies suggested to help ease any unforeseen troubles. One needed space when overwhelmed. One needed to run vigorously when feeling anxious. Another needed time alone to gather her thoughts before regrouping with others. Being sensitive to everyone’s needs, at times, became a task requiring not just the skills and talents of the adult leaders of the troop, but also one that may require the assistance and surrendering to Huldufólk.

What the heck is Huldufólk?

I kid you not. Huldufólk are “hidden” or “secret” people. Not human beings per se, but rather fairies, elves and especially trolls. While the legendary creatures are part of general Scandinavian culture, their legacy is especially strong in Iceland. When managing 14 pre-teen and teenagers for ten days, relying on fairies becomes a necessary task to help resolve and hurdle troubles seen and unseen.

Iceland is a country constantly in motion whether it's icebergs in a Glacier Lagoon or a lava field; it's always moving. It is in this motion that I am reminded of the essence of this work: Expansion and Contraction. It always appears to come back to the lesson of Expansion and Contraction. On occasion, I call this practice “My Walter Mitty” practice. The practice of visualizing and manifesting but then having the guts to bring it all to fruition. It’s not always comfortable and sometimes I feel ill-prepared for its outcome. I am challenged with insecure thoughts of, “Am I smart enough?” and “Am I worthy of such a task?” What exactly is the purpose of creating something from a thought anyway?

I mean “Why bother?”

In this land of 130 active volcanos and glacier lagoons filled with icebergs; black sand beaches with wild rip tides and steaming lava fields; snow-capped mountains, and staggering waterfalls; all coated with a very mild, coastal weather, peppered with a popular and fascinating bird nicknamed “The Clown Fish of the Sea” who can swim like a penguin but flies, formally named a Puffin. What is it about Iceland that brings Expansion and Contraction significance?

Allowing the Unexpected to Occur

What if releasing the agenda allows for the discovery to occur? If indeed “Adventure is out there!” then I’m willing to continue on the journey myself, as well as, to join others who are willing to see the opportunity with me. What if ‘The Adventure’ is not simply trusting in the imagination process, but rather allowing the imagination to manifest. It is in these times that I discover the ‘Outside Adventure’ stirs up the ‘Inside Adventure’.

Bra Fences along a busy highway. The opportunity to unleash and ignite. In the movie UP, Carl Fredricksen may have originally thought that the adventure lay in the remains of a scrapbook his deceased wife was in charge of. It took the perseverance of a young Scout named Russell, who due to a series of unforeseen events, eventually assists Mr. Fredricksen’s lifelong desire to have the adventure of seeing Paradise Falls. At the end of the movie, we really don’t know who unleashed who. Was it Carl Fredricksen who released the binds of Russell’s unfortunate set of circumstances? Or, was it the Wilderness Scout who reignited the adventurous - once dormant - spark in Mr. Fredricksen?

Be aware of the expansion and contraction and then...

Step Toward It!