As 2020 comes to an end, I have been reflecting on the good that came to me during the difficult past months. What we focus on grows stronger so I have been choosing to turn my attention to my blessings instead of what I always felt that I lacked.
On this last Sunday afternoon in December, I got in my car with no itinerary other than to find roads I never travelled. I wanted to see vistas of snow covered mountains and feel the sun on my skin. The Pennsylvania countryside never disappoints and I winded along rushing creeks and ice covered waterfalls. As the sun got lower in the western sky, the colors turned from a soft haze to deep burnt orange and the brilliant afterglow lit up a particular snow covered field. I pulled my car over on a small dirt path and walked to where I could stand in the air, feeling the crispness, opening myself to the fresh country air, and literally basking in the present moment. No sunset was ever this splendid, this serene. I stood there in pure gratitude and thanked the universe for all the abundance that I and my family have been granted the past year. I thought about my daily meditation practice and nightly gratitude journalling and noticed that my emotional struggles are lessened. I thought about how much easier I was finding joy on a daily basis when just a few years ago, before my reiki healing began, I thought joy was extremely rare and simply an over-hyped word. Joy IS reachable. Right here I was experiencing pure joy in the amazing gold hues that washed over me, healing every crack in my heart. My heart glowed along with the nature that was before me.
And then I saw them. Just over the hill in the pasture was a herd of silent and strong bison who became silhouetted by the blazing colors of the sky. They paid no attention to me but yet were fully present in awareness of this same moment we shared together. We were connected in this Oneness under this powerful sun that would continue its duty another continent away. But here we were. Together, all as one, sharing this sacred moment of peace, without worry for tomorrow, or the next year, nor anxiety over the last one. Bison spirit represents a year round cycle of power of abundance and that struggle is lessened if met with prayer. They reminded me how much easier it is to feel the joy I deserved. In this moment, I lacked nothing and all was well. When a bison crosses our paths, we are exactly where we need to be in life and this was true of me as I walked a dirt path along a pasture with a spectacular show from Mother Nature in the distance. The present moment is always a gift. As we begin a new year, ask yourself if you are giving honor to yourself and expressing gratitude for what you already have while remembering the energy of Bison.
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