Unplanned Sunshine Moments
The greatest gift we can give ourselves, the world, or any moment is being fully present. That’s when plans (beliefs and expectations) fall away to reveal ‘what’ has always been here - inspiration.
Inspiration is a breath, something (thought/emotion) that inflates, enlivens, activates the moments in ‘aspiration’. One is transitive (exerts action on an object) and the other is intransitive (exerts no action on an object). One sinks and the other rises. Together they offer us the divine power of spiritual uplifting.
However, we get into the habit of imposing force on inspiration (like making plans), it’s like forcing our breath. It’s OK to do so during the priming moments of meditation, or when emotions strike without our awareness in order to be calm. But we can’t ‘do’ that all the time. In between breaths, there is a source that pulls and pushes all on its own asking us to 'not do' but 'be' instead.
Some call it the Authentic, some Love (so many names) – no matter! ... when we honor it, we are led to rest in the seat of the Soul and that's when God sits next to us, expands through, and rises beyond us.
In the spirit of Love, I share this inspiration and aspiration as it appears through the words and images of these two young, creative minds – Marie, a former student who loves nature and is a Living Breathing Hug, and my son, Matteo, who loves fishing and film making and is recording our relationships between nature and ourselves.
I am so deeply honored to be present in their awakening - how their stories remind us that we don’t have to travel to someplace or achieve some goal to feel complete.
We are asked to surrender the plans of the mind to receive the way that is unfolding, that which brings grace to all experience and that which reveals the Truth about our capacity – we are integral spiritual beings that take form from the formless!
An Hour, Log, Sunshine Moment
By: Marie Sobel
"We so often walk through nature and ignore the lessons that it is trying to teach us."~ Marie
Happy Sunday Annette!
I thought about sitting in one of my "beautiful spots in nature that you connect to daily: sit somewhere beautiful and be still, notice the movement and sounds around, ground holding, and bring awareness to the stillness within you" and the first one that came to mind was a little bench that is along a trail that I like to take my pup on. It overlooks about 1/4th of my town.
This is the north end of the Santa Monica mountain range. I love to call this spot my meditation station & miles through this mountain you will hit the pacific ocean. This is the spot where I wanted to sit still, feel the ground move beneath me, and give out hugs to my loved ones.
This is not where I ended up giving my hugs and grounding myself.
Tuesday this past week I was eating my breakfast, looking out the window, and decided I wanted to go on a hike. So at 8 am I hit the road and went on one of my go-to hikes called Solstice canyon where one of the trails leads to an old burnt farmhouse, waterfall off to the side, and a creak pathing the path of the trail to the home.
I made it to the home, crossed the creek, went up the mountain, came back down to the trailhead.
Once I was at the trailhead there was an old tree trunk that was cut in half and served as a bench. The sun was warm and the last thing I wanted to do was get into the car. I laid on the tree trunk ALONG WITH A SUNBATHING LIZARD!
We laid there for about an hour soaking in the sun, feeling my tired legs from my hike, and giving out grounding hugs without planning to do so.
It's funny how we plan.
I planned to give out grounding hugs at the bench in my town. But at that moment it was not natural; it almost felt forced. When I lay on the log after my hike, that was natural. I was grounded at that moment. I had no intention to lay there at all. I had no intention to think of my loved ones, my life that I love, or love the warmth of the sun with my new lizard friend.
My mind, body, and heart needed that hour, log, sunshine moment that I didn't know I needed.
In life, the things we need the most, come unplanned. The best memories we have are unplanned. I am such an organized Virgo, that this moment let me realize that I do not need to plan out every step of my day. I can let the unplanned takeover and give what my heart, mind, and body need.
That is where I sent out my love.
Have a great Sunday full of light, laughter, and love.
Warmest,
Marie