LISTENING FROM THE HEART
Originally published in The Mancos Times – May 23, 2012
In my listening to others – to myself as well –I often hear a quiet resignation with what was, what is, and what will never be. It is as if we were once given a packet of magical seeds and enlivened with the excitement, hope and promise of their germination, sprouting and maturing into most amazing marvelous plants. Perhaps we believed that magical beanstalks would grow and they would be the path to our heaven, our Shangri La, our place of Nirvana. They were our thrill of possibility for grand visions and dreams. Sadly, however, these seeds never developed to take root, and our dreams and desires became stifled, dormant, perhaps entombed in a golden sarcophagus with no possibility of seeing the light of day again. They became tragic reminders of a lack of meaning with our identity and purpose. Perhaps as a result, we came to define ourselves with being critics or just “getting by,” “surviving” and living a life of bland existence.
Guess what? You probably, we probably, got the wrong seeds. All the time looking to the sky and on high for our miracles. Looking in the wrong direction and failing to notice the treasures about us. Is it time to change our seeds? Is it time to embrace, seek out and plant the seeds of the vine that move about the ground but not on high, seeds that move us forward with “being present” to the grandeur and wonders that are beneath our feet, miracles that are there directly in front of us with where our eyes do meet! Perhaps the true miracle is our change in state of mind and not an outcome or place to find? Are we ourselves not the miracle workers bringing love, appreciation and compassion to those we touch, those who touch us as well and love us much.
So I do challenge many of us to let go of those seeds of the past with their unfulfilled promises and unrealized dreams and instead, enthusiastically grasp a handful of an entirely different set of kernels. Let us experiment with planting and nurturing these new ideas and thoughts and begin gardening anew, till we find our joy, peace and fulfillment grand, a compatible and effortless growth direction and peaceful mindset in a land so underfoot and near at hand.
As we evolve and develop a greater truth, a deeper clarity with ‘what was” and “now is” … with what “will be” as well. As we shift expectations to preparations, perhaps yes, just perhaps, grand miracles will unfold for us dear friends. Is not our perspective created from where we stand and observe the world around us? As our position changes so does change what we notice and appreciate, whether we stand in the valley, or on the summit, or in the shade or the sunshine. Change our vantage point and we indeed do change the view and the reality we come to see. Perhaps it is time for us to reposition and change the crop we wish to harvest. Let us become “born again” gardeners with fresh possibilities of what will blossom and develop for us. What we sow, we indeed will reap. So sow anew and sow what’s profoundly true for miracles are yet to come and occur for you!
Michael Starr is the owner of Executive Coaching Services. He can be reached at www.executivecoachingservices.net or by calling 501-585-1302.