Rewriting Your Future – Rewiring for Appreciation

I woke up, smiling as I remembered the warm embrace of my dream. I used to call these my ‘higher self’ dreams, when I had this sense of just being able to let go, to lean back against the strength and love that was always quietly there for me. Now they are a daily occurrence, my awareness of flitting among the fairies of the universe in my nightly wanderings is more acute.

Yet here I am, still here on Earth, a beautiful planet. The sun has come up, or more accurately we have rotated back around to greet it again. When I moved to New Zealand I can recall the strong desire to see more blue skies. Yet even on the grey cloudy days I am more aware of the sun in all its glory just behind them.

What beauty the sun reveals, even when it is shaded. Colours are one of its more wonderful gifts, and the life of course it breathes into all that is green, not to mention that radiant energy of our most bright star, an energy I have begun to appreciate so much more since I began to reawaken to the wider context of my life.

The cat has stirred, ever alert to my awakening presence, her soft purring a gentle start to the day, her fur silky on my hand as she revels in a few strokes. Then “Mum” I hear, the children of my heart are awakening to the day. I go to them, we greet the day as we always have, a little tune for each. Their smiles are worth a shower of diamonds.

Then Archie, now awake too, greets us all with his usual mischievous bluster and goes off to make my morning smoothie. Fresh leaves plucked from the garden, mingled with berries and yogurt, plant life intertwining with mine. Understanding the essence of what we eat has been a great gift. As death leaves a body as a decaying shell, it is the same with plants. I appreciate the essence of what is given when plucked from their life source and eaten straight away.

We all head to the kitchen, the kids helping themselves to breakfast, then we sit and eat, sharing funny stories and thoughts about the day. I love those moments, the kids are just full of gems and I can see Archie taking it all in too.

After everyone puts their things away, Archie gets ready for his day and the girls drift off to their creative endeavors. I head off to do my meditation. Sometimes one or both of the girls join me, sometimes not. But I smile at the sky as I appreciate the powerful forces that are focused upon me.

Life is pretty cool. Every day I feel grateful for the inspiration that pointed me in the direction of New Zealand and the place I call home, it’s quite a contrast to the place I knew as a child. Though I still love the West of Scotland humour and relish visiting the places of yesteryear and the fond memories I have.

As I meditate I can hear the cicadas singing, their constant backdrop a familiar sound throughout the warmer weather. It’s a soothing sound, like multitudes of small birds all calling to each other in morning song, with only a lull now and then. It helps bring me to the present moment as I breathe in and out, only the occasional thought popping into my head and drifting past like a cloud as I focus again on the sound of the cicadas.

After my meditation, I just take a moment to look up to the sky; upwards and outwards taking in the vastness. Some days I am greeted with a colbalt blue sky, others it is dark and cloudy, with everything in between. Regardless, the enormity of it all gives me perspective and keeps me in deep appreciation. The green of the skyline as my eyes come back to the earth signifies flourishing of life here on this planet, we are very fortunate.

So I step into the garden, rain, hail or shine. I love to wander through this oasis we have planted. I look at trees that are now flourishing into growth and remember the saplings we brought here. I thrill at the berries I can pick and eat as I wander, and thank the universe for such gifts as these. Thinking of the intelligence and love in these plants, is another sheer miracle of the world we live in.

Both Callie and Jenna are often in the garden. For them it is both a playground and a natural wonderland with so much to teach. Watching children at their play is special, especially when it is play that exercises their imagination and connectedness to the natural world.  This time at home is so grounding and they are thriving.

I have help of course, for in my journey on this earth I became limited in my thinking early on and have awareness of wanting to expand my way of being and that of my children, so it is good for them to be around others who can help them to connect with their own inner guidance.

Ahead I seek my little nook. It’s the place I can retreat to, exclusively mine. Others come in of course, when they are invited, but it is the one place that I can go for solitude. It has a beautiful view, I can see the lush green of our land and its plants and trees and beyond the beautiful landscape. I can see the children playing at times and I can hear them or the wildlife around me.

I go to my nook to write, to think, to contemplate, to rest, to meditate, to stretch out in my yoga poses or just to be simply with myself and the whole of the universe. In this home of ours, we each have our own little haven, and it’s bliss.

There’s also a small place for guests to have their own space too, used most often by one or other of our parents. The kids love having their grandparents come to visit, and they in turn love seeing the kids, but all the more for having a retreat.

Archie thrives in this place too. While he loves the process of transforming other people’s homes, he loves nothing more than his own home and working upon it, or riding through the bush around the property. We often talk for hours about our ideas for making the place feel even more special.

Life is good and we often dream together as a family. These days there are less material things Archie or I want, but the kids are unlimited in their thinking, which is a joyous thing for a parent to know. These kids have come to change the world, as did we, but the ground upon which they walk is a much more enlightened one. I look forward to the future that is unfolding and enjoy the present we are living, it’s very gratifying to know we have such control over our experience of life.

I’d love for you to like, comment on, or  share these thoughts with others if they inspire, or contact me directly at shona@shonakeachie.com, I’m always happy to help if I can. To be the first to receive these posts, you can also subscribe to my newsletter and, as a special thank you, you will receive the link to my video 3 Steps to Becoming You.