Cape Flattery, Makah Tribe Reservation, NW most spot of the contiguous USA

I spent four days, this past weekend, out of town with my husband (we hiked to the Northwestern most spot of the contiguous USA!). Our kids stayed home. It was awesome. We had no schedule and ate out and watched the ocean waves and collected driftwood and rocks and hiked through the trees and just had a relaxing time.

It was a recharge – a reset – and so replenishing, energy wise.

I was reminded, as we hiked and just spent the time being in the moment, with no obligation to DO anything or BE anywhere, of a few things …

The 7 things the Universe and God (LIFE!) reminded me on my “reset” weekend:

1. Nature is PEACE and STILLNESS. I loved the time we spent in the forest and on the beach. There was only stillness and beauty and it felt relieving. It was replenishing to my soul to be around that level of stillness and I SO needed and enjoyed it. The quiet was enveloping … the moment we stepped into the forest or onto the beach until the moment we came out was like a time warp … I had no need to think of or focus on anything other than the beauty around me and the movement of my legs and the fresh air in my lungs. I loved it. It was true connection to existence.
   

   Olympic National Forest, Elwha River

2. Nature perfectly allows for just BEING. There is no worrying about HOW each tree or flower looks or grows, just perfect acceptance of uniqueness and stillness and growth. Each tree twists and turns and is beautiful BECAUSE of its unique qualities. I never get tired of walking through the forest because I see in each tree the uniqueness and it is wonderful. I can’t be tired of it, it doesn’t grow old. Each new turn around the bend offers another unique view that EXPANDS my joy. I see life much in this way.
   

   Olympic National “Rain”forest

3. I am STRONG and WHOLE. This was brought back to my attention as we climbed a mountain. Very literally. 4 miles up a mountain (2,400 feet UP!), 4 miles back down. It was hard and strenuous but my body did it. I was well able to climb that mountain and my legs moved me to the top, my heart pumped the blood through my body, my lungs moved the air, and I was able to experience a peaceful snowy lake scene because of it. It was awesome. I am perfect, and my perfection lies not in my outward appearance, but WITHIN. I am grateful for my perfection, my wholeness. I can do HARD things, my body is STRONG and I was reminded of that as I climbed.
   

   Hugging trees

4. There is magic in NOW. Living each moment IN the moment is magical. Every moment was another opportunity to see the magic that is God and Existence. The climb through the cloud on the trail. The snow coming through the trees and the sun hitting it just right so it sparkles. The ice on the lake at the top of the mountain. The waves on the beach coming in and going out. The red bark of one tree and the moss covering that rock. The perfect spiral of a new fern and the light coming through the trees JUST right so it lights up the world … ALL of the things I witnessed served to remind me that when I am present in the moment I can see the magic of existence and it is ever present and continually at my view if I choose to adjust my perception to THAT frequency.
   

   Port Angeles, Strait of Juan de Fuca

5. Life can be a constant MEDITATION. I don’t have to sit in the lotus position in a quiet room early in the morning to meditate and connect to the stillness. LIFE is a meditation if I allow it to be. Walking through the woods can offer me an opportunity. Sitting on the beach looking at the waves offers me an opportunity. Sitting in the car as we drive is another opportunity. Getting ready in the morning is an opportunity. In the daily tasks of life there are opportunities to be used as time to connect to Universe and to God. The only “requirement” is focus on it. Nothing else is needed.
   

   Perfection in nature

6. Joy is an EXPANDING energy. Expansion means growth, increase, greater energy than before. When you see expansion in nature, it is a seed becoming a sprout, then a stem, then a leaf, then it expands to become a flower. Always changing, but the change is GROWTH. So as I experience joy in my life, I see that it EXPANDS. It isn’t the same joy I had yesterday, it is greater, it has grown to encompass MORE of me. It has expanded the joy energy that is within me to be brighter and more lovely than it was. It is ever increasing, and ever expanding. The joy I experience today will GROW. That means that I will continually progress into greater joy. I can’t even understand the joy that will come to me because I don’t know that greater joy yet, but I DO know that it will come because I am continually receiving experiences that expand my joy now, and I know that it is limitless … there isn’t a “cap” or end to the joy available. It increases eternally.
   

   Shi Shi Beach, Makah Tribe Reservation

7. HOME is my happy place. I love seeing the world. I love experiencing time away. I love that a little weekend away from my normal life fills me with replenishing energy. But upon coming home I was reminded that my HOME is where my heart is. That old saying is true … wherever your heart is FEELS like home. And my heart is with my kids and the life I live everyday. I love life. I love where I live. I love what I do. My heart is in the daily tasks that I experience and in the people I get to serve. Home to me, is this place that I love and these people that fill me with joy. Upon arriving home I felt happy to be here, and was grateful for the opportunity to get away that reminded me how much I love HERE and NOW. I am this and this is awesome.
   

   Lake Angeles

What a gift life is. The experiences that come into your life are FOR you to help you learn and SEE. Use them. Look for the learning in all that you experience. Find the magic of NOW. It is always available when you have the eyes to see with that perspective. Find it. There is something good in every day. Look for the good … stop looking at the bad and focus on what is good and whole and right and joyful. Make THOSE things where your heart dwells and where you feel the most at home.

Hike up to Lake Angeles, Olympic National Forest, Near Hurricane Ridge

The sun was out this morning as I got up and realized it was a regular day with school drop offs and lunches and all of that. And I smiled to myself as I sat up out of bed. I am here now, and I love it.