When the ocean surges, don’t let me just hear it. Let it splash inside my chest! Rumi
I think of all the times that I have missed experiencing life deeply; all the times that life flirts with me, invites me, asks me to dance, and I fail to notice. I don’t notice because I’m distracted, busy, contracted, worried, or otherwise not present.
I have been learning to notice in recent years, and I can’t begin to describe the difference noticing, being present, has made in my life. How can I possibly describe such splashing in my chest? I can only hope that you, too, have had experiences of it. I can only invite you to make time every day to be fully present and notice all the gifts around you in each moment.
That’s why I am doing this blog: as an invitation to open to life. I invite you to begin to look at the sky and see the birds soaring there. I invite you to step out at dawn and hear them singing good morning to you. I encourage you to walk through the woods slowly and notice the undergrowth of lichen, fungi, bark, and more. I ask you to look into the eyes of the one with whom you are angry and find compassion. I dare you to expand your heart to hold the immensity of this world and beyond. I pray you will take time to consider another’s viewpoint, and let go of your prejudice. I wish for you to notice the brilliance in the setting sun or rising moon. I want you to feel the ocean splashing in your chest. It takes practice and intention. Sometimes it hurts to open so widely but it’s important that we learn to become a big enough container for all of life’s complexity, paradox, and beauty.
There is incredible richness in living from that place.
When have you experienced the splashing in your chest? What blocks you from experiencing the splashing?
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Thank you for these posts. I have always noticed the sky and clouds, but you have prompted me to notice moss (it is really pretty right now), and the vapor rising from a hedge this morning as the sun shone down on it. I took a picture, but don’t know if it will adequately show what I saw. Thanks for reminding us to slow down and appreciate creation, and thank the Creator!