Tag: outdoors

The Magic of Perspective

On By Moments with MillieIn Essay2 Comments

What we see and how we interpret it determines how we live our lives. We accept and understand from the level of our experiences. This is why we are all coming from different levels of awareness. The lens of intaking information and processing are always shifting.

Many years ago I took this picture of my husband as we were hiking. The picture captured a completely different perspective of what I was experiencing. Was my reality wrong? Was he entering a portal and I didn’t see it with my naked eyes? My eyes saw what I could understand which were leaves through a beautiful forest. There are so many different views to everything around us…at all times.

We capture everything around us, including conversations, based on examples of past similarities.

We have the capacity of truly being mindful even when we disagree. We can see things differently and still love one another.

Perspective is ever changing. You can heal your past by seeing with different lenses. Darlings, allow yourself the ability to shift and heal based on what you want in the future and not old programming. You get to decide how you see the world around you, how you process information and how you utilize it for your life.

Make it magical. Open your eyes and your heart to find the divine around you.

I love you.

Get Up and Move

On By Moments with MillieIn Essay1 Comment

The trees behind our house block the sky. I can see pink through holes in the forest. There is a mystical luring to that small space. I love the canopy of nature blocking and enticing my eyes. However, I miss being able to see the distance of sky and horizon. I miss waiting for the rise of day and the sleep of sky at night. I love sunrises and I am giddy that our new home in a few weeks will allow for me to witness them.

I’m reminded of how we allow things to block our views. We settle for the viewing and find comfort. We forget what matters because we conform to our surroundings. Sometimes we complain about how we can’t see or be or do. But we have choices. When you can’t see you can open up another area. You can shift perspective. You can move. You can walk the distance to find what you desire. You aren’t a tree rooted in one place.

So go. Go find your sky. Go reach your stars. Go make your path through the forest. Light through the fog. You get to decide what you keep and what must go.

(Picture from a hike a year ago)

Dancing in the Rain

On By Moments with MillieIn Essay3 Comments

The yummiest part of my day was taking my sweet elderly client to the Botanical Gardens. We walked slowly and cautiously on the trail. It was about to rain. He was concerned. I asked, “What would be bad about getting a little rain on us? It’s so wonderful, you know! It’s just water. I can get you back in the car and to the facility in ten minutes!”

He sighed. He smiled. “Well, you are right. I haven’t played in the rain since I was a child.”

“Well then it’s time. If it rains we can sit here and bathe under the forest!”

There was silence. I watched the wheels turning…a reprogramming of thoughts and beliefs.

He sat in deep ponder. He looked out to the creek. He gasped and shared his gratitude in a way that made me cry. I held his hand in mine taking in a mental input of the moment.

“I forget how fast 85 years have come and gone. And I still choose to live so rigid in my military thoughts.”

“Yeah, there isn’t time for that. I say we stay here and dance slowly under the rain!” I said giggling.

We waited. The rain never arrived. Just whispers from the heavens. But we were determined to dance under it so I allowed him to just twirl me for a second slowly on the grass. He showed me the most generous amount of presence.

My heart seemed to be in rhythm with the world around us.

Now you…go find joy in the simple things. You don’t have to follow such severe rigid rules. You are an adult. You get to be in bliss through the simplest ways like chasing a squirrel or butterfly….it might lead you into magic. ~m.a.p.

The Fall

On By Moments with MillieIn Poetry14 Comments

I fell in love

so unexpectedly

like water falls from sky.

 

How do I forget your smell

carved into the curve of my neck,

the taste of you

tattooed on my skin,

your eyes watching me give you

all of me,

splendidly and deliciously

into exhaustion?

 

I fell into you

like a diver jumps into depth,

surprisingly and magically

into an unknown

searching for treasures that lie

profoundly hidden in the ocean floor.

 

I fell,

scrapped knees, bruised heart, lost in memories

until that one moment

sometime, somewhere, somehow

you fall into me again.

Peaceful Flurries

On By Moments with MillieIn Poetry4 Comments

from phone 053

Snow falls peacefully.

Wind blows fast and hard.

I hate missing you

throughout this chill.

Winter has taken over

inside of me,

numbing what I know,

freezing all reality

as I stare into the coldness.

Silence appears

laying in the whiteness…

I wish I was snow

and you

the shovel scooping,

unearthing,

gathering

me up towards you.

The beauty of moments

is that you never know

when you are making

a cherished memory.

Mine hold many of us

frozen somewhere in time.

Returning to this World

On By Moments with MillieIn Poetry2 Comments

 

Last night the rain shivered beneath the moon

and I fell asleep staring at the silhouettes of trees

dancing across the field, lost in the wind of chances

until I drifted without thoughts and illusions

into a dream land that called my name from the other side.

 

This morning I returned to this world,

woken with memories of another life I left behind

and as I stared into the morning light

a quiet whisper left me without doubts:

my thoughts are the small journeys

that bring me back to reality

and I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

 

I return to this world surrendering to the universe.

Some days there is peace of mind.

Some days there is utter chaos.

Some days I thank God for the rain inside

that washes over me and fills my spirit

with such certainties and assurances.

The dreams intertwine with past lessons;

the past intertwines with the disillusions

and then I am back to this reality:

This is my one-and-only spectacular life.

The Blue

On By Moments with MillieIn Poetry14 Comments

The Blue

I am the ocean water,
You, the wave
Pushing and pulling
Allowing me to clean
The world.

I come and go,
Swiftly shifting the deep sand floor,
Gathering contents
And then releasing everything
To the shore.

I am the bird up above
You, the wind that gives
The momentum of flight
To travel back and beyond.

I am the leaves of the oak
You, the roots
Sustaining and holding ground
Allowing for food
And a place to hang on.

I am.
You are.
Together we are all.
With you
I am the sky,
You, the clouds
And Spirit the blue
That holds us forever.

New Beginnings

On By Moments with MillieIn Essay3 Comments

14980661_1271215559603966_1342732359711334734_n

I am reminded this morning about change. As I took the dog out this morning I noticed the reds are almost gone on the trees. The last of leaves are bright yellow and orange. Above on the ridges of the mountains is the beginning of winter…the dead-ness that arrives with this time. The creek has a large deposit of leaves waiting for a heavy rain. There is a baring and revealing that sits waiting to be noticed all around us. This is not my favorite time of the year. The rawness of having to move inward during the winter months is daunting at times. I need the sun, heat on my skin, and the brightness of days to guide me. But, I love these mountains of Western North Carolina and can’t imagine living anywhere else. Change is definitely evident. It’s in the trees, in the terrain and in all the new yummy things shifting in my life. The leaves don’t ask each other if they can fall or stay or change. They just move with the timing and season. To everything there is a season. We are not immune to change. It happens every single second of our existence. I am grateful. I am giddy for this shift and discoloration making way to growth in the near future. And…just like the last colorful leaves remain I take them all in for all their beauty. I accept what is and move on. New beginnings require the transformation of endings into mysticism.

Have a blessed day. Embrace the change ahead. I feel that this particular season will be magical!

14915542_1271215556270633_7350289173718295780_n

The Need for Retreating

On By Moments with MillieIn Essay2 Comments

helping each other

For several days I’ve been in a fabulous retreat up the mountain in a place that feels like a tree house. I’ve laughed, cried, created, purged, shared, listened, expanded, and entertained. I’ve witnessed magical “aha moments,” heard stories of tragic losses, and participated in healing. This is what I know as mystical. I can be in the presence of others and learn something about myself through their mirror essence. Sometimes those things do not happen right there at the moment. They knock in the middle of the night, or even days later. But, I can hold space for someone and not take it in while having empathy and demonstrating them love. I can do this in a way that I extract love and understanding. This is what a retreat and gatherings offer.

Each one of these women has been magical. Spending a large portion of five days with them has brought up so much in my own desire to continue gathering and sharing. Each single one has enriched me these past few days with the element of JOY. I haven’t laughed so hard in a very long time. I haven’t felt so free in many years. I have had silly moments and enchanting ones that leave the state of wonder to experience those things that have no explanation.

We are all magnets. We attract that which we are at the moment of thought and conscious choices. I love my wacky friends…my misfits…my unicorn-riding folks who aren’t afraid of being themselves. I love the ones who say what they think, and think what they say with depth and laughter. We are a tribe. We love together. We cry together. We question our paths but, without judgment, pull and push each other down the rocky roads. It’s part of our humanness to attract the good. It’s all so good here. Right now it’s all that needs to be without the element of restriction or expectations. It’s just perfect to be part of something so ecstatic.

At this age I am not getting older…I am getting playful, deeper, and acquiring a no-bullshit attitude. Life is too short. Enjoy it. Live inJOY! Attract the best of the best who vibrate on your frequency. Yeah! I want nothing less. The best treat you can give yourself is being fully present in a diverse group of souls. You get to learn from each other what works and what doesn’t.

I remember when I was part of the retreat center and folks would come to do their retreats. I would speak to people who would mention that they weren’t getting anything. I would stay quiet and think, “Oh, but wait till you get home!” There is no timing to reach emotional breakthroughs. Sometimes you must really get out of yourself to feel the difference. And, other times you just have nothing that needs to come up. But, when it does, it becomes the catalyst to something greater than the self. If you allow for those shifts you can feel the gratitude later on in weeks ahead.

To those magical women who shared deeply this week…thank you. Thank you for allowing me to be part of your journey. Thank you for so much fun and bliss. I love you all!

Please check out our new page for living consciously through joy:

https://consciousnessjoy.com/

 

The Art of Getting Lost

On By Moments with MillieIn Essay5 Comments

562215_387759647949566_2026302109_n

This morning on the way down the mountain into Asheville there was a traffic accident. I had a choice to sit through it or take a road less traveled on an adventure. Yeah, you already know what I did! I took a road into an unknown destination. And, the magic began to appear through every curb and dip into an area I had never visited. I was going down the rabbit hole, and I just knew I would never be the same again. Each scene took my breath way. Today is just lovely!

That’s the beauty of taking adventures…it’s the getting lost part that’s mystical.  There is a true art to purposely getting lost and challenging your spirit to thrive with enjoyment. I live for the excitement of finding treasures through serendipity. I began to see farm houses with mountain views, horses on scenery that belongs in movies, and endless amount of greenery. It was an explosion of wonder and all this so close to my house…and yet…so very far. All of this in a world of its own.

These are the moments my husband refers to as Millie’s Fairy-Ass Moments when the “aha’s,” “wow’s,” “look at that,” “Oh My God!” and so many other childlike words escape me. These are the moments I drive through the curbs yelling, “Weeeeee!” It’s in those specific moments that I am reminded that the gypsy in me is always ready to take flight and explore. These mountains have a way of turning you around even when you think you are going the right direction. The longer I drove the clearer the awareness arrived, “This is what I want to do. I want to write and travel. I want to hear stories from strangers in all corners of the world while giving our little girl an experience of a lifetime.” This morning brought up that confirmation that things need to work towards that so I can get lost without an agenda. I need more of this because it makes me come alive.  I need to continue manifesting this awareness into my reality because it is a vital facet of my soul.  This is who I am.  I have felt stuck for so long that when I do get lost I feel like I find my grounding.

When was the last time you got lost? Do you enjoy experiencing new places or does it cause you anxiety? Can you get up on a moment’s notice or do you need planning? I urge you to take the road less traveled. Don’t have a plan. Enjoy one morning without it. Make time to breathe outdoors, talk to strangers, and share in this space with get to call home.