Blessings, beautiful souls —
As I drove my son to school today, watching the sun rise up between the mountains in front of me – where the tops are now covered in light snow from cold nights – I thought to myself: what a beautiful planet, what a beautiful existence I have found myself in, what a beautiful place I get to call home.
I was surrounded by hot air balloons – not one, not three, but eight – proof that these lands are so magnificent that some wish to see it as the angels do. One was enormous, filling up the sky just to the left of me, mere moments from landing in the field right beside the road upon which I was driving. Hundreds of birds lined the electrical lines along the way; hundreds more were dipping, diving, singing as they soared through the morning air.
The whole world around me was alive with life, with joy, and with people present, aware, living.
I am continuously making more conscious choices that prioritize living. It is a weird sentence to write and likely a strange one to read, but in a world that continuously attempts to keep you in a loop of distraction, it’s not only the most important sentence to live by but the most rebellious, too.
It’s not about the beauty of what I was witnessing – what I am witnessing when I live fully and completely in the now – but the fact that I was witnessing at all. With so many eyes focused on a screen, how many have truly witnessed for the sake of witnessing and being transformed through it, rather than to capture it and share it online as proof of having witnessed?
This is my home. The road I travel daily. The mountains I can rely upon to witness me as I live. This is my ordinary life – and yet, when I live fully in the now, nothing feels ordinary at all. There is a vast difference between being witness to something and being present enough to be changed by it.
Every day, I am changed – because every day, living, for me, is an act of attention.
Small changes in my life are making space for that to unfold. Weekends are for family, not for work. Mondays are for me and my spiritual growth and development. Social media has been blasted into the oblivion of my past. I leave emails and texts unanswered. I set boundaries around relationships that ask too much of me. Every action tells a story of my spirit. Every moment I witness leaves an imprint on who I want to become.
Changing how I witness, adjusting my life so that it is fully and completely lived is an ongoing process, an ongoing lesson. What I am witnessing with the change of seasons this Autumn differs completely to what I made space for last year. How much of me was consumed by noise and did not leave space to even hear?
I have lived here for nearly two years and heard the screams of wild boars for the first time last week; what did I allow to distract me and turn my attention away from hearing them before? I saw a photo of my son exactly a year ago and he’s doubled in height, thinned out, and looks like a little man. How did I fail to notice this change? What was I witness to, instead? So much of the world drives forward with FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), wishing away the present in the hopes that the future might bring a more fulfilling experience. Being alive is not about constantly searching for the next profound experience, but about becoming present enough to recognize the profound experience already taking place.
This morning was a profound experience. In the middle of an ordinary Monday, driving my son to school, with snow on the mountains, hot air balloons dotting the horizon, and birds filling the sky, I was there. Nothing pulled me away from being there; my act was attention in that moment. And I can tell you this with profound certainty: in that very ordinary moment, I felt more alive than ever before.
If you wish to support my work further, have a look at all my books, journals, and decks, available here. If you want to work with me as a spiritual healer, check out my services through Seeking Celestial Grace and Awakened Little Souls. I am offering limited spots each month for my Year Ahead Tarot Reading. And: What if the wisdom you need could be found in the spirit of flowers – in a 78-card oracle deck? Have a look at fleurs célestes – a Flower Essence Oracle & Tarot Deck created by yours truly.
xx C
