A Return to Life
I took an unexpected but needed break from writing and creating content (Not that consistency has ever been my strong suit).What started as a social media break, became all platforms, including this. And although I have checked my platforms, posting has come to a halt. The thing is, I needed to clear out the constant inflow of information. I needed to remember who I was beyond the narratives I absorb in the mindless scroll.
As you scroll, you go in to a relaxed and very programmable brain wave state. And this can be fine if your content is well chosen but if you run a business, the algorithm shows you all the ways you should and shouldnt be running your business. Or really all the “shoulds” in the world are coming at you; “the 10 mistakes your making in your diet”, “the secrets to money nobody told you”, “top 5 reasons your life sucks”… etc etc. I just couldn’t do it anymore.
I am not in any way against content or sharing or even advice, but I must say with the constant lists of right and wrong, I found my own intuition slowly quieting. The deep internal nudges were drowned out by the white noise of “opinions as fact” content .
If you have been with me for a while, this is not my first time mentioning this. But I am not here to make a long post about the “dangers of social media”, it is my intent to remind you what lives beyond the noise. My intent is to remind you to really be alive in your life.
What is it to be truly alive? Beyond the vital signs lie an “awakeness” of heart and mind. Far removed from “woke culture” and “conscious branding”, exists hearts who yearn to feel love, inspiration, and connection. Beyond the filtered and edited world exists smile lines, beautiful tears down blushed cheeks, exists first breaths, and last breaths. Beyond the curated feeds and flashy Netflix dramas there are quiet rooms that long for you to fill them with your essence.
And it isnt’ just social media, we are in the constant midst of political chaos. And no matter what side of the fence you stand or if, like me, your standing in a random field watching people yelling across the fence, there is discomfort in the state of things.
I am not here to advocate you giving up these things, I certainly havent. But in my space from it, I can tell you, my own inspiration started to soar. But I wasn’t inspired by all the productive things I could create, I was wonderfully aware of how beautiful it was now. I remembered how incredible it was to be alive. I saw how beautiful the light that streamed in through my imperfect window was. I noticed the paint colors on houses I drive by all the time. I went to the river more, I rode bikes even though it was hot. Because why not now? Beyond distraction, life grew in a miraculous but small way.
Growing up in church, there was a saying that was repeated at the end of each service. “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord shall stand forever”. This came out of the mouth of my minister father weekly, and I perceived it like it was a supreme court ruling and one entirely based on the words of the bible. But supreme court rulings fall, so do religious practices, governments form and dismantle, cultures change overnight or stand still for decades.
It is the eternal that stands forever.
It’s a funny thing to use the word “word” in that context. What is the word of God from a spiritual perspective? To me, word translates to sound, sound translates to a frequency and that frequency stands behind the forms of all things that come to pass. But we must find it. We must find the silent still place within us not to become removed from life but to see from that lens. The vision of the divine.
In this open hearted and open minded place we receive life, in all its glory but we don’t get lost the minutia of the temporary.
God is not a word I use often in my writing, because it creates so much dissonance for some due to some negative religious experience. But what I speak to, is the deep loving eternal goodness that exists within us and is available in all things. So replace the word if you wish, but I invite you to a deeper presence within you to view life from.
Each situation you experience in life has endless ways it can be perceived, but the one that serves you the most contains the most love and freedom in it. This is not optimism in its shallow sugar coated form, it does not shove out the dark and the painful, it asks “what eternal divine thing lies within in this?’. “What within me is being created by this?”
I invite you (and me) to slow down your mind of thoughts and feel with your heart and body, breath life in and then receive inspired thoughts about what is before you.
You are a conduit of the divine.
When we drop in to this presence, life wakes up again, the distractions and distresses are no longer as important as the life that flows from your every step. We become less sterile and more creative. We become less programs of “should” and more inspired to find our own truth.
I wish this for all of you. I will continue to write here as long as it serves me and hopefully you. I may show up in other iterations but for now, I am trusting that being my fullest self and showing up for life, will lead me where I most want to go. All of my services are still available. But remember, I love to hear from you, so feel free to respond or share with others. Would you like to see other things from me? Let me know. Don’t hesitate to create dialogue of your own thoughts with me.
With eternity on my mind,
Avery