Awaken

Here’s Merlin. The cutest, nicest person encased in fur. ‘Whassup Mama? Yaaaaawn’ (sucks paw) My heart melts..

Sometimes we have to stop to see, to truly love.

This is an ancient teaching that has been spoken about for thousands of years. Mindfulness.

It can sound so cold, so austere, like ‘sit down, shut up, grow up’, but when it happens, it’s anything but. It’s incredible. The whole world bursts into life inside of you.

It’s like we can spend our lives skimming the surface of things. Never truly tasting, smelling, touching, seeing, feeling, acknowledging. We loose the wonder, another form of love.

When we allow ourselves to slow down, stop, really attend to something, or simply open up to what wants to be attended to, we can sink into the depths of our senses, soul and sometimes spirit.

These snapshots are images from my ordinary life. The blue room which is our cosy nest, bathed in golden sunlight. Everywhere my partner goes he leaves a water bottle and normally an old pair of socks. Sammy cat, the only cat I know with lips.

A cascade of colour, realisation, impression can literally wash over and through us when we pause and drink in.

In those moments we can be truly alive to life and a seemingly tiny, mundane thing can become ecstatic. The tired dust that’s gathered upon us is blown away in a wash of wonder.

It’s up to us how much we will open to the ecstasy of life, the abundance that surrounds us, right now and be inspired (breathed into). Most of us don’t believe in it, needing bigger and bigger entertainment stimulations to touch us in any way. We are numb to so many things. The world becomes grey.

The ancients called this quiet ecstasy awakening. To wake up dreamer.

In these moments I love my camera. Capturing a moment. A piece of my heart out there in the world, framed forever.

I feel the miracle of life. My life, and I am blessed.

See if you can try this today.

Pause.

Open.

Inhale life.

Be soft with it.

You’ll likely meet resistance. The urge to plough on. The fear that you’ll be met with emptiness or that it’s another thing you’ve failed at or don’t understand.

Your soul is calling you home. The doorway is narrow. Just stop and see what happens. Millions have spoken about this. It’s a real thing. Find your own way with it. However you do it, slow down, pause, stop, drink deeply x