Presence

Hi, and where are you blooming today? I sometimes like to look around and see where and how I'm blooming. Today is all about The Bloom which is a by-product of The Seed three days ago. While some plants might retain their flower for a few days, others will only bloom for a few hours! There is an iris (or maybe it's an orchid -- it's very pretty) that blossoms in the morning and by evening is shriveled up. My sister had this plant and if she left too early in the morning and got home too late in the afternoon, she never saw it bloom at all! I got to see it's glory one time when I stayed with her for a few days. Catching a bloom is about being there in the moment.

As a reminder, here's The Seed again:

"Stay in the present.

If you find yourself saying should have or should,

you're trying to manage the past or the future."

Trying to do either one will only be frustrating and probably have a little suffering thrown in.

When we bloom or blossom, we expand and we take up space in the best possible way. We become a presence. Dictionary.com defines presence as personal appearance or bearing, especially of a dignified or imposing kind. Queen Elizabeth, Britain's monarch who recently died was small in stature, yet she had a commanding presence. During the early days of COVID, hospital staff often provided the only comforting presence for their gravely ill patients.

The point is, in order to have a presence, one must be present. If we find ourselves worrying over what we "should have" done or said, we'll get lost in the past. It's over. There's no way to create yourself then. On the other hand, if we simply "should" ourselves, as in, "I should eat better or I should learn to speak Italian" we're fantasizing about the future and we're simply not in the here and now and life continues to pass us by. If you think about it, what an easy way to catch ourselves. Simply look out for those simple words, should and should have.

Back to the beginning ... As I look up at the beautiful, wooden, high ceiling of my cottage and the rolling fields full of turkeys, deer, cows and grapevines all around, I am immensely grateful (something else that only translates to the present) and I feel like I am blooming. I sit at an oak table with my books and papers around me and I work on my Nurse Coaching lessons, learning and entertaining new possibilities of what's next. I'm always evolving and exploring unless I get caught up in feeling like I should be doing "something else" or should have acted differently, maybe many years ago and then, I shrivel. Finally, when I come back to my senses, I open up, like a flower, to this moment.

I'm reminded of a well-known, beautiful quote by Anais Nin (1903-1977):

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud

was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

Bloom -- this is what I wish for you!

Are you wanting to take some risks, but it feels scary? Email me for a complementary Discovery Session and let's see if you can feel more comfortable.

Sparkles and Love,