I have noted before in
this column how each issue of Alaska Wellness comes together with a
unique energy and flow. Sometimes we propose a general theme well in
advance of an issue and writers contribute their own personal take or
spin on this theme. Other times a theme is more open-ended, and we
watch with curiosity and delight as an entirely unexpected pattern
emerges through the articles that are submitted. No matter how it
happens, the writings as a whole present a collective focus in
consciousness.
In this issue, our very
last of 2007, there is a clear tone that speaks to self-healing and
taking better care of ourselves—‘better’ in the sense of deeper
caring, a more aware and conscious caring. Everywhere upon this
planet, scenarios of awakening are popping up, reminding us to pay
attention, to be truly alive, to really feel with all our being the
magnificence of this world—and ourselves. Indeed, there is the sense
of a vast, underlying encouragement to move beyond the merely
ordinary, or even the merely expected, as we venture forth into 2008.
Why is it that we need
to remind ourselves who we really are? Why are we so willing to go
along with the fads of the day, to immerse ourselves in busy-ness and
fill our thoughts with so many loud distractions: television, radio,
computer, electronic gadgets galore? Not to mention all that mindless,
superficial chatter that goes on between our ears.
What to do? Maybe it
begins with something as simple as reminding ourselves every day to
slow down, take a break, admire the sky and clouds and all those
gorgeous mountains that grace our state. Are we really too busy to
laugh with our kids—those little masters at seeing what we so often
miss? Is ‘being busy’ a defense against knowing who we really are?
I’m reminded of a
friend who recently told me he went to a bookstore because of an inner
nudging that there was someone important there, someone he really
needed to meet. After several hours browsing through books and having
a thoroughly enjoyable time, he began to laugh aloud. For he suddenly
realized that the person he went there to meet was … himself!
How can we not smile
with a sense of deep gratitude when we remember ourselves? So easy, so
wonder-filled! As a wise Grandmother Elder encourages us in one of the
features of this issue, Receive
what is! Receive the birds, the trees, and all the people around you.
The highest thing you can do for others is to just receive.
In opening ourselves to
what is, we receive the treasure of who we are. As we shift from
endless doing, thinking, talking and racing around like crazy people,
we begin to know what it means to simply be. We get to recharge,
reacquaint ourselves with our inner sense of self, and retune to our
own clear tone of inner authenticity.
Shhhhh…
Listen deep. And welcome home.
Dawn
Brunke
is the editor of Alaska Wellness and author of Animal
Voices and Awakening to Animal Voices. See www.animalvoices.net for
more.
