Invitation

When was the last time something completely outside of yourself caught your attention? Was the moment something you were deliberate about creating? Or did it take you by surprise, happening seemingly out of nowhere? How often do you find yourself marveling at how lucky you are to be in the particular space and time you are in? Does this happen several times a day or is it seldom? Have you ever thought about how much you are/aren’t noticing?

For me these moments are invitations to the present and when I am having a good day, invitations are everywhere. It’s the tops of trees being illuminated by the slanting morning sun that causes me to take pause and delight, it’s discovering a labyrinth I’ve never noticed on a street I drive down regularly and stopping to walk it, it’s when the shape of the clouds makes me think of something or someone specific, or it’s just a call, hearing some sort of message over and over, something that takes effort to ignore.

There is so much that is dreamy, magical and inspiring in this world. I wonder if the pace of modern life is so frantic we often don’t have the time and space to observe the wonder. How can we begin to create space to receive these invitations?

Go outside.

When I was a child, it seemed this was my parents’ answer to everything. Go outside. It sounds simple, but there is so much wisdom in this. In moving through nature, or even just being in nature, our consciousness shifts to become aware of our surroundings. When we are aware of where we are, we aren’t able to maintain a perception of separateness.

Through consciousness of our interconnectedness we begin to witness the reciprocal relationship between us and all living things. When we see ourselves in this way and are open to giving and receiving, we feel more balanced. Just as a plant knows what it needs to draw in and release from its environment, when we are securely connected to the living system we are part of, we also innately know what to do to thrive. We feel our value in that connection, and we are reinforced by each of the millions of exchanges that make up our lives.

When we see all of this, are actually aware, invitations are infinite. Invitations are everywhere.