The awareness I see from the animals in my life and the animals in the wild I have encountered on my journeys, hiking, kayaking and sitting in the forest have helped me to see my senses have been dulled by separating from my connection to animals and the natural world. As I experience interacting and reconnecting I am surprised by the level of communication existing all around me for years that I was oblivious to! When I was a young child the presence and connection was there. I could sense it, feel it, and touch the magic as I played and wondered. Over the years my mind and brain learned many things, facts and grew knowledgeable in the ways of a worldly life. As this occurred I thought I was becoming wise, now I see, I was learning, yes, and also missing a major part on the path to the wisdom I was seeking.
The opening began when I realized how to quiet my being and notice the world around me from a different lens. Not the what is my next scheduled thing on the list lens, but rather the what am I seeing, noticing and feeling right now around me on my way to wherever I am going lens. The gifts I have received from pausing and noticing are so many. I walk into rooms differently, noticing people and truly sensing them and what they are engaged in as I enter. Even when out in a store I am so much more aware of the people and activities around me as I move. Being in nature feels so comfortable, sensing the colors, the textures, feelings and sounds around me without crashing through and disturbing the space. I recognize I am part of  everything around me, in every moment! This realization has been the most notable step on my journey to wisdom, and understanding this world I inhabit with humans and other species. I love that my eyes have been opened by connecting on a level I am beginning to realize has always been part of my birthright on this planet.

In Gratitude for being alive,
Bobbe