Here’s the super power that would really be helpful - no fear of feeling feelings. What if I had no fear to feel? What if I was able to accept and welcome all of my feelings? What if I had no fear of my emotions overwhelming me – taking residence and never leaving?
I’ve never been a fan of doing a cleanse. It sounds good, right? Actually it sounds dreadful because it involves deprivation and I’m not big on that.
In the frenzy of interactions with stuff and with others, it’s hard to have a feeling of oneness with the world. Surprisingly it’s in stillness that oneness is more easily sensed.
I really wanted to move on. But the problem seemed to have a mind of its own and it kept eating at me. Eventually I talked to my wise friend Paula about my dilemma. She said, “Here’s the problem. You can’t solve this with your head. This is a place your mind can’t go.”
My daughter and I were having a fun conversation exploring ways to approach some challenges. She threw out the question, “What would it look like if that challenge were easy?” I can’t stop thinking about that question.
Honoring stillness has always been a difficult choice for me. When I experience it I absolutely love it. Stillness is calming, and grounding, and balancing and ultimately leaves me energized and clear headed. So why is it so hard to choose? Why is it hard to carve out time to be still?
The reality of life is that there are so many things to do, choices to make, problems to solve. Add to that the endless shiny objects that entertain and pull at my attention. It’s easy to forget about the refuge, the calm and the simple delights of the present moment. It comes down to how much control I decide to exert over where I put my attention.
Why not choose a thought in this moment that moves me in the direction of more love? Why not choose to let go of tension I’m holding in my body in this moment? Instead of looking in the mirror and seeing flaws, why not choose right now to see the miracle of creation, the beauty and interesting complexity of a human face, kindness and love in the eyes?
Nature is the vastness that exhilarates and frightens us. We sense that there is so much more than meets the eye – a mystery so fathomless we hide from it, fearing for the safety of body and soul. We dominate and control that which we do not understand. We strip Nature of her resources, use her up even as she gives and gives, dominate her by “right,” take without thought or thanks, lost in the delusion that we are different, separate from her, better than her. It is time we wake to the Dream! We are part of Nature. Her breath is our breath; her pain is our pain. Our Spirits flow together down hidden paths, gossamer strands of energy link us one to another. The deer and the bear are my brothers. Water is my life’s blood. I am the hawk, and the hawk is me. All That Is reflects my soul back to me in a myriad of ways.
The world is always speaking to you if you choose to listen deeply. The Universe is offering us signs and messages. It is those special moments, when we are captured by the wash of colour in the sky, by the chatter of the birds in our backyard, or by a feather floating to the ground at our feet. It is when an animal shows up in your life in an unexpected way. Perhaps a Pine Marten crosses your path, or you see an image of the same animal multiple times over a short period, or you may see an animal behaving in an unusual way. It is these moments that carry the magic and the message, information that can guide us on our road and open new paths of awareness.
