inspiration, spirit

Paradise

Paradise has never been about places. It exists in moments. In connection. In flashes across time.    —Victoria Erickson

How many of us live with a sense that paradise exists? We understand that media is heavily curated and the craft of advertising is insidious, and yet, several of us routinely find ourselves tangled in the web of seeking something better, something more.

Upon chatting with family members who just returned from the Maldives, a destination that represents paradise to many, I was reminded of the fact that there are problems everywhere. In this case, plastics in the sea. Don’t get me wrong, my family was grateful for their trip and remarked on the beauty of the islands. But it was a good reminder that an unspoiled destination cannot exist in this world and the pursuit of one is damaging. Of course! This doesn’t, however, preclude us from buying the illusion. Restaurants, resorts, shops offer up dreams for a price. Any image being packaged for sale is carefully created, the opposite of reality, and still, there is something in us that wants to believe perfection exists somewhere.

This is the thing, in these moments where we long for elsewhere, we block the beauty of the moment we are in. Paradise doesn’t exist anywhere. If you’re looking for it, stop. But idyllic is everywhere, if that’s how we choose to see things (and hopefully we do).

What is perfect? Nature. The grandeur and beauty is often obvious, but biodiversity, nature’s sheer force and scale as well as its wisdom, all of it is perfect. There is also some sort of perfection in authenticity, realness, what transpires between us and others when we aren’t holding back. Being natural.

Perhaps next time we feel that familiar tug toward seeking something impossible and elsewhere, maybe we can find what we need by simply sinking deeper into where we are.

20 thoughts on “Paradise”

  2. Wow what a great post. I love this fascinating and interesting article. That’s so wonderful but it made me to fall in love with this site. Well, if you wouldn’t mind let’s work together. I would like to partner with you please.

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  3. I so love this post, Lauren. It speaks miles of understanding of the universe where we are. Being in the moment, and appreciating it for what it is, regardless of what is around it, is definitely something we want to cultivate in ourselves. Thank you so much for this message, Lauren; it fits right in with what I am studying presently.

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  4. I loved this post and took an instant liking to your blog. This concept of paradise, that everything will be fine when we get there, if we can just get there is illusion. It is more a state of mind and for me closer to a feeling of contentment. Nature is all powerful and supreme. We are the ones who are insignificant yet continually try to master it. And then we seek its pristine and restorative nature when we feel at or lowest ebb.

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    1. Thank you tremendously for reading and commenting.
      I agree with you, nature is so much more powerful than us (not that we aren’t also powerful), so powerful that she can take it if we need her to fortify ourselves. But she needs us to care for her, too. I hope that is starting to be broadly understood. 🙏

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