Week 3: Always Part of Something Larger

"Our light shines the brightest when we are working on something bigger than ourselves."

We are linked in our humanity the way the earth holds a tree, so that tree can hold a nest, so that nest can hold a bird, so that bird can drop a seed that will in time give birth to the next tree.

• Week 3: Always Part of Something Larger
• The Book of the soul - 52 paths to living what matters by Mark Nepo

“It’s no secret that slowness remembers, and hurry forgets; that softness remembers, and hardness forgets; that surrender remembers, and fear forgets.” ~ Mark Nepo

To find a new way of living, I must learn to pay attention to the ways I view the world. Within each circumstance I face, there is a lesson to learn. Sometimes it is helpful while navigating the difficulties to remember that we are a small part of something bigger. Discovering the value in what we learn through struggle. By viewing things as they happen for you, not to you. And asking what lesson can I take from this?

Every day there is devastation, frustration, even humiliation. But there is also wonder, contentment, and joy. So much beauty in nature, sometimes all we have to do is look up to find it. A night sky, a morning sunrise, the snowfall gathered on bare branches. There is always something when we look for it.

Some days it takes the act of choosing a softer view of the world, even amid chaos. Often, it takes moving from the commotion to a place of quiet. Following our path to discover meaning within the ebb and flow of the world that surrounds us, and noticing the push and pull that is being alive.