Sparks in Wisdom's Fire: curiosity

Showing posts with label curiosity. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Big Fluffy Flakes: A Tale of Curiosity

Big fluffy flakes of wet float down upon a chilly world. Peer closely! Within those flakes twinkle wonder. Breathe deeply of the wonder, and the world changes if only for the moment — the barren trees and ground, coated in those big fat flakes, appear magical. I, and maybe you, cannot help but laugh at the joy of those magical snowflakes.

Several hours later the world has returned to its wintery, weary monochrome. Peer into the monochrome. What do you find? Silence. Step into the quiet, rest in the moment. What is there? The ghosts of those flakes that beat with simple wonder.

The ghost whispers seem to say, “Life is uncertain. Sometimes within this unknown, life is really hard. It is filled with blips. Don’t give up. There are messages in the the unknown, in the blips.” I sigh accepting this truth. Another truth resonates through me. It is the magic, the mystery, twining in those impermanent flakes.

I sense this iridescent thread of mystery that connects me to the other and the other to me. Yes, we are in peculiar times. It is true that the world is uncertain. These “truths” are just part of the picture. Those falling snowflakes fill me with curiosity. I ask, “what else is there?” I ponder, “what if I dance and laugh and feel the joy in the beauty of each moment?”

Curiosity. We choose to see the sparkling magic or we can choose to ignore it. Sometimes the ignoring isn’t conscious. We are scurrying from what was to what will be. In the scurrying, we miss the moments of wonder. When these magical moments slip past us, we stay stuck in the mundane.

Mindful, we feel the fear threaded through the uncertainty while seeking to know what is just beyond our knowing. We know that courage will lift us into another space. That space? The extraordinary that is hidden in plain site.

To discover the extraordinary, we attend to the moment. Aware we notice the steps that we take from what happened before to what will happen. Only within those in-between steps do we see the mystery unfolding…feel the mystery unfolding…know the flare of a spark deep inside ourself echoing the mystery.

Aware we dive deep into our life. Each moment of the dive helps us see our purpose and live it with unbridled glee. Life is uncertain, impermanent, but with mindfulness we can experience each magical moment. In the experience we are made better.

Van Hurst, ms, is an intuitive-coach-catalyst. She uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for navigating the mundane and extraordinary. The result of time with Van? An evolving blueprint for your life that sustains a deeper connection to your intuition and contemplative nature.

Van is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Her most recent book, As Natural As Breathing: Being Intuitive, is available on Amazon. Contact Vanessa for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Have you noticed? It’s coming alive.

Have you noticed? Everything is coming alive. Even the trees that haven’t leafed out feel more alive. The vibrancy of their bark speaks to me. Yeah, spring has sprung even if winter is still clinging on.

I admit to grumbling when I awoke to 28 degrees. I mean, end of March…brrrrrr much? But, hey! At least it is not the teens that I woke to several weeks ago. Yeah, the world is coming alive, and I can feel it invigorating me.

In early March it seemed that every time I walked outside a murder of crows squawked loudly. Now those big black birds (large crows or ravens, I am not quite sure) are less interested in gaining my attention than in building nets. I was amazed the first time I saw one carry a large strand in his month. Then he disappeared with it into the upper canopy of a tree to twine that strand among others.

Wait a minute? Do you think that the crows got tired of me not listening to their caws and decided to communicate in another way? I bet. Crows are sneaky like that!

I got the message: strand by strand build the nest. As I imagine the beauty of the nest Crow is building, I ask myself what vessel do I need to build or dust off to prepare for newness in my life? What will I give birth to maybe not today or tomorrow but soon? That is the question for me to discern and live into…and maybe it’s your question, too!

Crow reminds me that life, like the turning wheel of the seasons, is not static. It is about choosing the strands of new growth, creating a nest — a womb to nurture the new, and then giving birth. Knowing that giving birth is going to be the easy part. What follows is joyous, hard work!

Once our creation leaves the nest and takes flight, we fly with them. We ride the thermals, dodge raindrops, enjoy a different perspective. This is what the acceptance our newness offers us. When we accept the invitation, we live from the beauty of our spirit.

New always offers the opportunity to dust off the cobwebs of discouragement and peer into our shadows with more aware eyes. It requires that we pluck out the weeds that tangle our hopes and dreams. That we courageously nurture beginnings. That we live with a sense of curiosity and daring because who knows what is waiting on this flight into the new?

What is speaking to you this spring? What’s coming alive? What are you being called to nurture? What new will you sustain? It is probably you!

Van Hurst, ms, is an intuitive-coach-catalyst. As a contemplative coach, she uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for navigating the mundane and extraordinary. The result of time with Van? Creating a blueprint for your life through a deeper connection to your intuition and contemplative nature.

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

There Is Just Try

Lyrics have been written. Songs have been sung. Quotes have been made for this tiny, one syllable, three-letter word. Does the word try get a bad rap? I think it does. Remember the Yoda quote? “Do or do not. There is no try.” Was it a little shortsighted? I think so.

So before you read any farther, I have a confession to make. I am an unapologetic Try-er, a risk taker who has gone out on a limb or two that have cracked. But, I have also leap from limbs into the great unknown and discovered myself on the thermals.

Mirriam-Webster defines try as an attempt. I don’t know about you, but it seems that I have spent my entire life attempting one thing or another. The goal of each try? To be who I am. I’d like to think that each try got me a little closer to me.

Does not quite reaching that goal make me a failure? Does trying and allegedly not succeeding make you a failure? Of course not! Trying is all about figuring out where you are in this life journey. Trying is a way of negotiating this event we call life. Trying is part of discovering what works for us …and what doesn’t.

Let’s use a down-to-earth example. One of the things that I am aware of during this Time of Covid is the inability to try on clothes. So, yesterday I bought this really cool tie-dyed sweatshirt. I brought it home. Put it on. Guess what? If you guessed it didn’t fit, you would be right. So, now I get to do one of my least favorite things — return it.

If you think about it, when you try and don’t quite get what you were expecting there are consequences. You, and me, get to decide what to do about them. Does that mean that this try was a failure? Of course not. It was an attempt at adding a cool sweatshirt to my wardrobe. No loss, no fail.

Maybe you and I need to look at tries in other arenas in our life the same way. In this wild, uncertain journey you and I can never know for sure how something is going to work out. Until we scooch out on that limb, we don’t know. if the limb will hold us, if we will go crashing to the ground, or it we will leap into the unknown.

If I’ve discovered on thing on this journey of trying, this life isn’t about the complacent. It is about taking risks — the underpinning of trying. So, try to me isn’t a bad thing. In fact, when we try, we engage three important life skills:

Be curious. Have a questioning stance. Be open to what you find. Ask the questions not to expect a definitive answer but to get a bit closer to the answer. Be flexible in reframing what you find into a deeper question.
Be daring. Try new things just for the experience. You may discover, like that sweatshirt, the fit isn’t great. Or, you may discover a new direction, a new skill, or something that just says, “this is me.”
Be courageous. Trying can be scary. Even paralyzing. Look your fear in the eye. Gather the strength to meet your fear, address your concerns, breathe into your courage. Then just do it — TRY. Courage says, “Who knows what will happen, but I am going out on that limb! Join me?”

Try, because really, what do you have to lose? Own your inner Try-er. And, maybe, just maybe you will gain a part of you that was never really lost just hidden under the weight of your fears.

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an unapologetic Try-er who encourages others to embrace their inner Try-er. As an Intuitive-Coach-Catalyst, she uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for personal and relationship transformation. She is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Her most recent book, As Natural As Breathing: Being Intuitive, is available on Amazon. Contact Vanessa for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Gifts from the Unexpected

So, this past summer I did a thing. I cut my hair really short. Well, really short for me. I have been enjoying wearing hats because short hair doesn’t stick out in unsightly tuffs!

Searching for the perfect hat, I came up disappointed. A friend posted pictures of her works of crochet art. I remembered the afghans I crocheted decades ago. I am sure you can see where this is headed. So, I did another thing — researched crochet patterns, asked for advice from my crochet artist fried, and bought yarn and hooks. So, that might actually be three things.

My reasoning about creating my own hat was how difficult could this be? Yes, famous last words. The first attempt I created a doily. I bought additional yarn and more hooks. The next attempt was lopsided. Next, I practiced crocheting by hooking a scarf for my son.

I found another pattern and began anew. The first hat was the size of a small basket. So, this was an unexpected gift! I am using it for my crochet projects. And….I may just have to crochet some Easter baskets. I’m just finished my next hat. It is a win!

On the Crochet Journey

On my journey to crocheting a hat, I knew that I wouldn’t stop until I had a hat. I fully expected the unexpected as I attempted to make a hat that fit. Each time I didn’t quite succeed, I learned from my mis-hooks. I also told myself that if I couldn’t ever figure out how to make a hat, well, I would use that yarn for something else. No matter what happened as I hooked the yarn through the stitches, I was living in the moment.

This journey of crocheting has been a practice of mindfulness and a foray into the unexpected. Counting stitches I notice how often my mind wanders from the moment. When I breathe into the flow of the hook, I relax and the stitches are more even. Crocheting is now on my list of contemplative practices.

Crocheting, Mindfulness, & Risk Taking

But, more than that, living in the moment is an exercise in risk taking. It is a willingness to meet the unexpected by being okay with the outcome. It is about not giving up or giving in to frustrations. Even though I am secreting hoping for THE outcome, I am open to where the path leads me.

And, I am not just talking about crocheting. Each time I begin a new venture, I open to the evolution of my plans. Each time I pen a book, wax a reflection arc, or paint an aura portrait, I practice meditation and contemplation. Through focusing my attention, meditation, and listening to my inner voice, contemplation, I fully am in the moment. I am trusting that my intuition will guide me over the hitches into exactly where I need to be.

The Call of the Unexpected

The unexpected calls us into the moment; calls us to take a risk; calls us to listen to our intuition. Life really is in the journey. Each moment of that journey is a way station destination of awareness and realization. Each moment calls us over and over again to be exactly who we are.

So, the unexpected can be a place of fear where we startle at every creak. Or, it can be a place of curiosity and daring where we explore the world anew. What will you choose?

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an Intuitive-Coach-Catalyst, who uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for personal and relationship transformation. She is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Her most recent book, As Natural As Breathing: Being Intuitive, is available on Amazon. Contact Vanessa for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.