Soul Stirring of Winter

Beauty Abundant

The geography of your destiny is always clearer to the eye of your soul than to the intentions and the needs of your surface mind. John O’Donohue (Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing in Eternal Echoes: Exploring Our Hunger to Belong)

As winter weather continues to settle in and we move closer to the Winter Solstice, I find myself more pulled within. Much of what I read stirs something in this soul. I feel a choice point coming, a gestation of something that as of now has no words, no form, no clarity. Certainly, no certainty. I wonder how ‘it’ will emerge or even whether ‘it’ is an ‘it’ at all.

Muse gently reminds me to embrace the stirring and all that isn’t known, then guides me back to an experience that seems to point toward some shift on the horizon.

As I was putting away an abundance of leftovers a few days after my Thanksgiving feast with friends, I listened to Robin Wall Kimmerer reading her essay The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance in an Emergence Magazine podcast (find it here -- https://emergencemagazine.org/podcast/). She was speaking a topic near and dear to this heart while picking serviceberries: an economy based not on scarcity as it is now but on abundance, reciprocity, flow, a gift economy.

I listened, aware of the irony, the juxtaposition throughout: I’m packing and storing as I listen to a wise woman’s words about giving, sharing, and flow. Beyond the leftovers, I’m reminded of the abundance of pinon nuts that I harvested in the woods. Except for those shelled by a friend and enjoyed with our Thanksgiving feast, they sit on the pantry shelf waiting…

Abundance, flow, reciprocity, using, gifting … These ideas are not new. They resonate deep within as the truth of who we are, who I am. They point to possibilities some of which are emerging worldwide.

This, I think, is foundational to a level of consciousness needed to grapple with the issues of our time. Perhaps a part of Einstein’s admonition that we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that created them.

Then I wonder ‘what needs to shift in my thinking, my being, and my habits of doing?’ so that I more fully align with what I say I believe? What habits of choice do I hold and follow that are of the systems of scarcity? As I pose these questions to self, I do so in hopes that only remnants remail. Yet I know our systems have imbedded their ways, their thinking in us, in me to keep the lie of scarcity alive: ‘there isn’t enough, hang on to what you have’.

And so, I pack and store, having on some level bought into the lie of scarcity. Yet I hold a knowing that this is one of the ways of the past that is in hospice, moving toward laying to rest so that new ways can emerge, be nurtured. How that will look in this life I’ve created and in the world beyond is ours to determine, ours to co-create. May we do so in harmony with one another and with dear Gaia, Mother Nature, our home.

Mossy Love in the Woods Out Back

My Prayer of Thanks 2022

Morning Dance of the Fire Faeries

The power of giving thanks gives life its vitality! The power of giving thanks comes through your awareness that you are always in a position to receive all the elements the Universe has to offer. Everything is available to you.  Gregge Tiffen (The Power of Giving Thanks, November 2007)

 I’m thankful for the muse that visits at least weekly with some message that seems to want to be expressed. My weekly practice for over nine years now is one of the highlights of my week, in part because I rarely know what’s going to show up, until the words hit the page. It’s also been my practice to rest the muse on occasion and revisit/reprise a prior post. And, so it is this Thanksgiving (here in the U.S.) eve, as I reflect with a grateful heart on all this year has offered.

Last week in sharing the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, Greetings to the Natural World, I shared my belief that, while it is good to have a special day to give thanks, the irony of Thanksgiving’s origins in this country deserves a pause for thoughtful consideration. As you give thanks, I’ll leave that consideration to your heart and soul. I’m grateful that as a society we are beginning to acknowledge, understand, and hopefully, move beyond the dark choices that haunt our past.

 Despite the disgust and sadness I feel for the atrocities we force upon one another and on our dear planet, I’m grateful for this life and for the opportunities to learn and grow that are ever present.  Despite the irony of the holiday’s origins, I celebrate, grateful for my conviction that, despite history and the current chaos and cruelty worldwide, justice and light will prevail.

 Several years back, sitting quietly by the fire on a cold morning, I began to write in my journal. The words that came surprised me and took me to an unexpected place: gratitude for being me.  As I ease into Thanksgiving Day, I remember all that I’m grateful for and my words then inspire my prayer of thanks for 2022

 I’m grateful for the challenges and changes this year has thrust upon me personally and on all of us as a community of humans. I’m grateful for my friends and friends of my cousin who surrounded me with love and support in the wake of her sudden, unexpected death two years ago. I’m grateful that she entrusted me with the sacred task of handling the affairs she left behind and rewarded me for doing so. I’m grateful for the abundance that I’m able to share in my community and beyond.

 I’m grateful for how I live my life, the choices I make, the insight and curiosity I experience, my love of quiet and of Nature’s beauty. I’m grateful that I take reasonably good care of myself. I’m grateful that I take time to ease into the day and enjoy the morning quiet. I’m grateful for introspection and for how I see the world unfolding perfectly in this human experiment despite events that are horrific beyond my understanding. I’m grateful for this year’s events and for those individuals whose actions continue to challenge me to hold this light.

 I’m grateful for all the beings who are holding light in the midst of darkness.

 I remain grateful for nine years with Cool Hand Luke Skywalker and for all that he taught me about patience, forgiveness, rest, play, listening and so much more. His ongoing presence reminds me that life is a continuum not a finite event. I’m grateful for Zadie Byrd carrying the torch of being my canine companion. Her sweet presence in my life is a constant blessing that grows each year.

 I’m grateful for how I’ve faced the challenges in my life, even those where in hindsight I saw a different way for me to be. Each offered a gift and I did my best to accept it.

 This year I’m especially grateful that I enjoy my own company as well as the company of others. Both are so very important, yet we humans so very often shun being alone for fear of being lonely, forgetting that in our aloneness we hear Your voice and feel Your presence.

 Thank You for always being with me/in me. Thank YOU for allowing and guiding me to be me. I feel so close You, God, in these quiet moments and I am so very grateful.

 When we give thanks for being who we are, we tap into the vitality of life. Wherever this week finds you, may you feel a depth of gratitude that goes deeper and further than any you have felt in your past. May this special Thanksgiving prayer from Gregge Tiffen contribute to transporting you to that place.

Icy Cottonwood Creek Winds Through the Woods

Investing in Soul

Magical, Mystical RAIN!

Investing in beauty is an investment in my soul.

Muse knows that I’m excited this early morning, the second day of summer (Happy Solstice!). I’m immersed in the motion of summer, engaged in a project that has long been a dream. An unexpected trip to a regional nursery is on today’s agenda. Beauty is on the horizon.

A pre-Solstice heat wave was followed by much needed and blessed rain along with cooler temperatures. Rain over several days moistened the parched earth and left behind shining rocks that look as if they’ve had a good scrubbing. Birdsong seems even more cheerful, and I sense the unseen Beings in the woods out back are dancing with me in celebration.

Nature has awakened to her season of growth. Cones are forming on the pines. Cacti are blooming. Mother Earth delights in the softness of the moisture and watching her progeny grow.

Just as I imagine the fay dancing, my mind’s ears hear a dialog among the pinons. “I’m starting my cones today,” says one. “I’m gathering my energy to begin. Maybe tomorrow or …” replies another. In the world that I know as reality, their underground communication network is in full swing, collaborating to make the best of conditions above and below ground.

I too am in motion. The expanding collection of geraniums has been moved from their winter home indoors to the outdoors, bringing life and eventually color to the deck overlooking the woods. Moving and caring for them at the season’s change has become a ritual of creating beauty.

This season a project that’s been a dream for some time is coming to fruition. One side of my home is quite barren. Seemingly it was more impacted when the home was constructed and never received any TLC. Then last year installation of the solar system disrupted it further.

After construction was complete, I asked the area what it wanted, hoping that its desires would align with my long-held ideas. The area seemed to understand that it couldn’t be returned to its natural state and simply asked for beauty. ‘I just want to be a part of the beauty of this place, the home, Nature, and the woods out back,’ is what I sensed the area to say.

Since that ‘conversation’ I’ve envisioned creating beauty that would flow visually into the woods. This week finds me putting that vision into reality. Co-creating with Nature and a creative partner who knows what plants thrive here in the mountains. He has a keen eye for creating beauty and a strong body to dig in our rocky soil. He loves doing so and engages the process with keen awareness and meditatively. A joy to create with and to watch!

We’re using, with permission, the gifts of rock and driftwood, the trees and natural terrain of this landscape adding drought tolerant, deer resistant plants many of which will attract butterflies, bees, and the hummingbirds that nest here in the summer. I’m beyond grateful for his creativity, knowledge, strength, and the level of consciousness he brings each step along the way.

As I walk among the almost overwhelming choices of plants at the nursery, I come to realize that I’m creating a landscape that I’ve dreamed of long before coming to the Rocky Mountains. I’m filled with gratitude that I can invest in creating beauty and that, even before the project is complete, offers deep nourishment to my soul. Ever-present, Muse reminds me:  Investing in beauty IS an investment in the soul.

A Bounty of Beauty

Flowing with Nature in the Season’s Glow

Solstice Hike to the Ziggurat on a Colorado Blue Sky Day

The beauty of Winter Solstice is courage in itself. It is the courage to know that to be new is not necessarily going to be accepted by those expecting the commonplace. … You accept rejection from humankind. You accept rejection from your family and those around you. You move yourself to where there is no rejection: which is the reality of nature all around you. Gregge Tiffen – Winter Solstice: The Christmas Story

So it was with Mary and Joseph. Rejected by the mundane world of the inn, they were offered Nature … Rejoice! In rejection is a gift of direction, of invitation.

This blog day after the Winter Solstice finds me immersed in Solstice newness. Fully present in this moment, I’m tingling to discover what ‘Santa’ will bring forth as opportunity emergent from the chaos of our crumbling mundane world in this new cycle. I’m grateful for the Solstice reminder of courage.

Living life not as a series of goals to be achieved and tasks to be checked off a list, but as the flow of energy, clear with intention and presence in each moment NOW.

The Muse, silent, smiles. ‘Savor this’. The Muse’ silence speaks loudly. It needs no words or deeds in this moment. Savor the quiet. Be still. Turn away from the world and dwell in ‘your’ world. Sing. Dance. Play. With Creation. Embrace open-hearted fullness and satisfaction. Satisfied not that all is how I would have it be, but that I am.

Love.                  

The Great Sand Dunes, Blanca Peak, and the vast Wildlife Refuge — Nature’s Beauty Glows from the Ziggurat

Revealing Habits

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

As we value experiences above things, we get more conscious and more open to more profound and more complex experiences. Nisha J. Manek, M.D. (Bridging Science and Spirit: The Genius of William A. Tiller’s Physics and the Promise of Information Medicine)

Now is the time to take the corrective measures to break out of old habit patterns. Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Revealing Habits – February, 2011)

An experience this week and the awareness that it presented reminded me of just how much our habits are like the water a fish swims in. Like that water, many – perhaps most – of our habits are transparent to us, operating as our navigation system through daily life. Generated over lifetimes of experiences, our habits are hidden drivers on this sojourn.

Without awareness, habits rule. With awareness, we create choice.

Sadly, in our culture today we’ve adopted habits that are anchored in fear. As I discovered for myself this week, we probably don’t need to look beyond our front door, to identify habits generated from fear. Collectively beyond our door, fear drives chaos and divisiveness in the world. Perhaps it’s time to assess our habits, at least some of them. Perhaps it’s time to anchor them in qualities of the Universe, like love, peace, light rather than in the fear that has us seek to control that which is uncontrollable.

This muse emerged from a conversation last week, in which, a friend shared an experience she had while having her vision checked. When she was choosing the ‘better’ of two choices, she realized that while one choice offered clearer vision, the other choice ‘felt’ better. Hmmm…

I loved the awareness that she brought to the ‘exam’ (the doc was blown away too!). As I reflected on her ‘how does it feel’ distinction, I realized that a part of my current self-care/health maintenance simply didn’t feel right. Taking my extensive array of vitamins and supplements, all of which make perfect rational sense given my age, etc. etc., no longer felt good to me. And, it hadn’t for some time.

Upon reflection, I saw that this aspect of self-care had become an unconscious habit of gulping down pills with little awareness, other than perhaps a touch of annoyance that I ‘had to’ take so many. Ouch!

I’d lost the clarity of my intention – to maintain excellent health and vibrant energy. I didn’t prepare/organize or swallow with any intention in my awareness other than to ‘get it done’. Rather, I gulped them down hoping that I won’t become ill. I was acting in a habitual pattern of fear without awareness. Little wonder that taking them didn’t feel right or good!

And so, I stopped. No vitamins. No supplements other than nourishing Chinese herb formulas that have ‘felt’ right since I started using them several years ago and infoceuticals to support my biofield. I’m giving my body a rest. Feeding it clean, nourishing food. Being clear and intentional about and grateful for EVERYthing that crosses my lips. Then, in time, with strong intention grounded in love not fear, and using the intelligence of my body’s wisdom as a guide, I’ll re-evaluate and give this body what it seems to need.

In the meantime, I’m curious to look more deeply at my habits – habits of action (and inaction), habits of thought – to examine how they ‘feel’. Are they ‘right’ for me in each moment? Are they anchored in love, peace, light, power (not force or control), beauty, harmony, abundance? Or are they habits of fear to give the illusion of keeping a dangerous world at bay? Stay tuned. More habits may be revealed. Better yet, take some time to notice and be at choice about your own. 

A Colorado Blue Sky Day!

Pearls to Ponder

The Quiet of Snow Is Upon Us

We live in the midst of abundance, of universal space, and we receive abundance as a result of conviction in the universal Law of Life. The universal law of life is continuity. … ‘Abundance in the making’ is making new discoveries regarding that which already exists. Gregge Tiffen (Faith is Abundance in the Making – Winter Solstice, 2008)

This week finds me moving in several directions, all forward. I’m preparing to travel and writing this post in advance. I’m engaged in a project with a colleague – keeping it gently moving until we launch an intense focused effort and participating in a community meeting.

In the throes of this activity I’m also moving into the quiet, contemplative darkness of winter and looking ahead to the sacred Winter Solstice. While contemplation has become an important part of my daily life in all seasons, winter offers a magic that seems to deepen the meaning of what I discover. Winter brings a soft curiosity and encourages me to consider manifesting experiences where I will experiment applying those discoveries.

And, winter brings opportunities in the form of challenges. Winter weather can impact the best laid plan. I’m especially aware of that as a winter storm moves in, offering the opportunity to accept what is and relinquish any illusion of control I think I may have. Go with the flow! Allow things turn out as they will and trust that to be in divine perfection.

Doing so is most always easier said than done, especially when travelling.  If I allow them to, reservations and schedules for lodging and transportation become a mother lode of stress and restrict my sense of flexibility and ease. Likewise with plans made for gatherings with family and friends.

Navigating this snowy travel time, I’ve found support in some pearls of wisdom. I offer them for you to ponder as you enter what, for many, can be a hectic, demanding time. As we move deeper into winter, I invite you to give yourself the gift of time and energy for quiet contemplation to consider how you want to be with life.

… Nonetheless, we walk around constantly trying to control and determine what will happen next … No wonder there’s so much tension, anxiety and fear. Each of us actually believes that things should be the way we want them, instead of being the natural result of all the forces of creation. … There is so much evidence that life does quite well on its own. The planets stay in orbit, tiny seeds grow into giant trees … a single fertilized cell grows into a beautiful baby. … they are being done by the incomprehensible perfection of life itself. All these amazing events, and countless more, are being carried out by forces of life that have been around for billions of years – the very same forces that we are consciously pitting our will against on a daily basis. If the natural unfolding of the process of life can create and take care of the entire universe, is it really reasonable for us to assume that nothing good will happen unless we force it to?  Michael A. Singer (The Surrender Experiment – my journey into life’s perfection)

So what if road conditions prevent or delay my travel? So what if I don’t sleep in the hotel before my early morning flight? So what if I miss my flight?  So what if I feel guided to leave early and miss a gathering? Is it possible, dare I probable, that the Universe, wiser than I, has something better in store? How can I live more powerfully from that place?

Faith is conviction that relinquishing control is in your best interest. Trust is the act of conviction that faith will not harm you … that your consciousness is operating by universal direction. Gregge Tiffen (Faith is Abundance in the Making – Winter Solstice, 2008)

Winter Contemplation -Not Just for Humans - Luke December 2015

Patience With Life

Right Place. Right Time. Beauty IS the Morning!

Let me understand You as the Source of Abundance that allows me to remind myself to be patient with life. Nature does not produce the flower before the roots have taken hold. As I recognize that the place I am in is the right place at the right time, it will always be the right place at the right time. Gregge Tiffen (excerpt from a Letter to God in The Power of Giving Thanks, November, 2007)

Ah 'patience', the learning in life that so often we bemoan. Yet it is patience that puts us in 'the right place at the right time', doing so consistently, I believe, if we look honestly at life.

Of course this does not mean that we never encounter problems, breakdowns and situations that at the time they occur are upsetting and just seem wrong. We want them solved, fixed, eliminated and for things to return to 'normal' post-haste. Often we dive into finding a solution, without giving the situation its due. We don't consistently take time to ask: what is this about for me? What is the opportunity, the gift if you will, of this event? Heck, we may even beseech God to 'hurry up and take care of it'.

Over the last several weeks, I've found myself missing the physical presence of my canine companion, Cool Hand Luke Skywalker, who transitioned out of his earthly body in August. I miss seeing him on the trail when I walk. I miss feeding him, playing tug, and giving belly rubs.

An easy 'solution' of course is to adopt another canine. After all, there are plenty of dogs in need, waiting in shelters and elsewhere for a new, hopefully forever, home. I've started down that path a couple times since Luke's passing. Through a friend, I met a sweet dog whose human needed to find a new home for her. I wasn't ready. Then I visited the shelter where I first met Luke nine years ago. Nope. Not time.

I've found it challenging to acknowledge that I wasn't ready. After all, it's just a dog – NOT. It's a commitment, a partnership. That, and a number of other stories in my head pointed me to my impatience with myself (I should be ready!) and with life (The right new canine should have shown up by now.). Patient? I was not!

Gregge's Letter to God provided just the tonic I needed to remind me that right now, in this moment, without a canine breathing at my side, I am right where I need to be. There are roots that need a bit more growth before I'm ready to bloom again into the human I want to be for the next canine companion. And, there is Gregge's reminder that when that time comes, I'll be in the right place, at the right time to receive. If Luke taught me anything, for sure he taught me that!

So, this week I invite you to spend a little time quietly reflecting on any situation that has you flummoxed or feeling that you are out of step or out of place. Discover how that can't be true and how your position is just right for you in this moment. Now, what's your next move?

Did I mention ‘It’s a Beautiful Morning!’?

An Avalanche of Gratitude

Grateful Every Day to Live in this Beauty!

Dear God, I sit quietly in appreciation for You as the Source of omnipotent Abundance manifested everywhere through every thing and every one. I give thanks, albeit too infrequently, to You as the Source that brings people and events into my life at exactly the right time and place. Gregge Tiffen (The Power of Giving Thanks – November, 2007) 

So begins Gregge Tiffen’s letter to God in his November, 2007 booklet, one of five years of monthly booklets, each a potent mystical musing containing guidance on navigating life on this planet from a practical metaphysical perspective.

That short opening paragraph prompted my awareness of two important things. First, give thanks more often. Heck, I aim to make gratitude a way of life. Gregge’s words also prompted deep gratitude for the people in my life.

There’s little, if any, question that evoking feelings of gratitude positively impacts our health and well-being.  A quick Google search yields hundreds of sources and studies that measure and document just that.  

Our task is to use that knowledge moment to moment, day to day, no matter what we face. Individually and collectively we need to generate avalanches of gratitude. We need to allow ourselves to be overwhelmed with gratefulness for our blessings, those that are obvious and those that may hide in disguise. We do so with practice, moment to moment, day to day.

As I reflected, I felt guided to begin making a list of the people I’m grateful for. It began something like this:

• Cousin Marty, James Michael and his family

• Neighbors who shared their bountiful garden harvest much of the summer

• Another neighbor who installed insulation in the crawl space under my mudroom

• A community member who recently said to me ‘as a woman who also lives alone, you can call me anytime, 24/7, you need help’

• Friends who shifted their plans to have me over for dinner and brought dinner here so I could take care of an ailing Cool Hand Luke

And, on my list went, soon going beyond my local community (colleagues worldwide, activists on the front lines of change, etc.).  My avalanche of gratitude had begun. Like a tiny movement that can create an avalanche of snow and ice in the mountains, my list kept growing, leading to vast, deep, heartfelt gratefulness.

As my heart opened, my list expanded to include those who ‘push my buttons’ whether it be posting snarky comments on social media or expressing negativity in conversation. It encompassed media as well as elected officials whose words, tone, and decisions I loathe. I’m grateful for each and every one because in their aggravation of me, they push me to define my boundaries, my standards, what I will stand up for, and what I will stand in opposition to.  We are living in a time when that will become more and more important, but for today I’m simply grateful for them all. What about you? Will you add some gratitude to life today?

Grateful for my neighborhood!

Living True To Our Roots

Bull Elk and His Harem

Every celestial body has definitive root characteristics. The root characteristic of this particular planet is that it is a receptive womb. Planet Earth is female and produces a mothering, nurturing base. Gregge Tiffen (Learning Without Experience Is A Bell Without A Clapper – September, 2008)

We ARE the Planet. The Planet is US.

The visual beauty of the earth here in the southern Rocky Mountains where I’m blessed to live lies in stark contrast to the visual appearance of the devastation we’ve witnessed over the past month. Forest fires, hurricanes, floods, drought have ravaged the earth and seriously impacted millions around the globe.

Here, it’s easy to experience the nurturing touch of the Planet through my senses. Some days the smell of the pines is so strong that I can taste it. To touch a tree is to feel its strength and at the same time its vulnerability. The gentle flow of a mountain stream has been one of my favorite sounds for decades – long before I moved to these mountains. And, the landscape – from the valley floor to the top of the soaring 14,000 foot peaks – is a visual feast every day, every season. Here, even on the coldest, windiest days, I feel the receptivity and nurturing that is the way of Earth.

Likewise that same root – receptivity, mothering, nurturing – is present in the midst and wake of so-called ‘natural’ disasters. Beyond the sense that something old is making way for something new, we witness some of the best in ourselves. Neighbors help neighbors. Strangers help those in need, both up close and personal as well as from afar. These expressions represent the best of our living true to the root characteristics of our planet.

And, that - living true to our roots - is a requirement. It is necessary if we are to ever have a chance at creating lasting peace among all peoples of the planet. It is necessary if we as a species are to continue to inhabit Mother Earth. A sturdy pine does not grow from roots of tender grass. Only grass grows from those roots.

Grassroots

Here are the root characteristics that I believe we are meant to live from:

We are meant to have dominion – loving, nurturing, receptive dominion – over the planet. We are not meant to dominate the planet or one another.

We are meant to be fed from the abundance that the earth provides. We are not meant to be gluttonous or to attempt to nourish ourselves with fake food or man’s laws disguised as laws of the Universe.

We are meant to manifest and to understand that everything we think, say and do manifests. From that understanding we can align ourselves with the true nature of the planet. We are not meant to suffer, rather we are meant to learn.

We are meant to adapt, to embrace change as a natural characteristic of the planet. We are meant to evolve. We are not meant to keep things, including ourselves, as they are or to try to return them to something that we or they were in the past.

As you go about your week, consider the roots that Mother Earth gifted you with when you came to the Planet.  You ARE the Planet. The Planet is YOU. Are you aligned and living true to your roots?

Treetops and Mountaintops - Fall Beauty Abounds

Conspiracy Theories

Beauty in the Broken

You cannot separate yourself from the Universe, period! You just cannot do that and nothing can. That is the Law, and that is how the Law operates. The premise is that you are not different from the Universe from which you are drawn. Gregge Tiffen (The Language of a Mystic: Polarities – February, 2009)

So there. That’s that. You are the Universe. You are all its qualities. I am too, along with 7.125 billion humans scattered over the planet. In Universal terms none is greater or lesser than another. Oh to see one another through the eyes of the Universe, and then live from that perspective. I aspire, but I’m no saint. Yet my aspiration has offered up new insights this week.

The world constantly yaps that we are separate and, thus, should live in fear of one another. Some of those messages are overt and obvious. We hear them and recognize that we have a choice about whether to accept or reject. Others are more subtle and insidious. We may not even be aware that messages suggesting “that’s just the way things are” are swirling about. Hence, we don’t clearly see that we have a choice. We go along to get along. Both are messages of a system that puts power in the mundane, fame, fortune and seeks to control based on fear. And, both are erroneous.

In my quest to discover beauty in every thing last week (http://cindyreinhardt.com/blog/an-atmosphere-of-well-being), I found myself going beyond the five senses to find beauty in those ways of the world that I abhor. Yet, beauty I found.

I discovered beauty in the vast learning opportunities our chaotic world is offering moment to moment, day by day, 24/7. Perhaps the greatest learning of all is to remember that we are at the very core of our being all of the qualities of the Universe from which we can and of which we are a vital part.

•         We are beauty. Learn to BE that beauty.
•         We are harmony. Learn to BE that harmony.
•         We are abundance. Learn to BE that abundance.
•         We are peace. Learn to BE that peace.
•         We are power. Learn to BE that power.
•         We are joy. Learn to BE that joy.
•         We are light. Learn to BE that intelligence.
•         We are life. Learn to BE that life.
•         We are love. Learn to be that love.

I found beauty in unexpected places because I was making the choice to see beauty in those places. I was reminded to remember my Source and to choose THAT as my expression in the world.

Love on the Road!

And, I discovered that the qualities of Source (or the Universe, if you prefer) are inseparable from one another. Where I found beauty I found each of the others.  No matter which is the focus or the lead, when I found beauty, love, peace, joy and the others easily followed. Then, just beyond I found the gift of gratitude.

So, while some conspire to conquer and control others, the loving Universe seems to have a conspiracy of its own: granting us the opportunity and privilege to learn along with the power to make that choice.

While our individual choices may separate us from the pack, choosing to learn offers something the pack can never offer: strengthening awareness of our connection to the Source from which we came and of which we are forever a part. That learning becomes wisdom to carry with us into the great beyond. 

Last week I conspired with beauty to take the lead. This week, I’m choosing joy. What about you?

Elephant in the Woods (can you find it?)