At a recent hospice training, I was introduced to the analogy/concept of understanding spirituality as our world view, and that our vision (how we see the world) is like looking through a window. This vision affects how we understand the world, people and ourselves. We spoke about when the window is clear, we are able to find meaning and hope in our lives. Conversely, when the window is cloudy, we may be feeling anxious, frustrated, or hopeless with what’s happening in our life. I bring this up because in my life, I’ve generally had a pretty clear view, with periods of cloudiness as the view shifts and settles into new ways of being, thinking, perceiving… There have also been times in my life when the chaos of cloudiness has brought me to my knees, literally. You would be right if you are thinking, “That must not be pretty.” But each time that happened, I gently pulled myself up, and slowly began cleaning one window pane at a time. It was a way to tenderly rebuild myself after letting go of pieces of ‘me’ or pieces of my ‘understanding of the world’ that no longer seemed to fit, or didn’t make sense anymore. And eventually, my window became clear once again, revealing or uncovering new feelings of hope and meaning in my life.
For me, this idea of a window as our perception of this world also links with our ability to attract what we see or believe in this life. As an example, if you see the world as full of good folks who help each other and are nice to each other, you’ll probably notice that you have a nice community of friends, eager to help each other. It might feel like you are wearing rose-coloured glasses, perceiving the goodness and the beauty in everything. On the flip side, if you are always protecting your stuff because you believe people are likely going to try to steal your things, you are probably going to have things stolen. Those glasses seem a bit dark, and murky. This idea of ‘we attract what we see or believe’ is evident in a memory I have of being pregnant with my son and seeing pregnant women EVERYWHERE. I was aware of and thinking about pregnancy — actually, I remember feeling consumed by it — and thus became aware of it all around me. My son is now six years old, I’m not interested in having any more babies, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I noticed a pregnant woman. It makes me think how I see the world actually creates my perception of this reality.
Many of the Spirit Animals I’m playing with in my experience right now are birds, and mostly big ones like eagles, falcons, and vultures. Because of this awareness, these thoughts, and the experiences in my life right now, I see large birds flying in the sky A LOT. This morning was no exception. Drinking tea on my deck, just moments ago, a massive turkey vulture coasted along on the thermals and as I watched and invited him in, he flew closer and closer until he was about 40 feet above me. I could clearly see his red neck and head, the beautiful shades of grey-brown feathers darker along his front wing span and fanning out to light grey as the feathers reach back. What a treat to connect with this massive bird so elegantly, so closely.
All this to say that I believe we create what we see in our lives through our thoughts, our dreams, and the way in which we see this world through our own unique window.
I invite you to notice how you see your world. What themes show up for you? How clear or cloudy is your window right now? Is there a shift in perspective that would benefit how you see the world and what shows up for you in life? I’m going to keep playing with this…
