Day 155: Protecting the Small Sparks That Change Our Lives

Why does standing on a sand lot with a pergola over it make me so happy?

For one thing, because I’m looking at the ocean.

For another, I like walking barefoot and feeling the warm sand. It’s good to be grounded again after spending the last 11 years in a penthouse.

But mostly, it’s because I followed through on a flash of a vision I had 4 years ago. It didn’t last more than 2-3 seconds, if even that.

I was paying attention and I didn’t just dismiss the feeling that came over me with this brief picture in my head.

I questioned it. What does this mean?

I liked how it felt, so I wanted to look at it more closely.

For most people, though, that flash of a vision would have gone unnoticed, or at least unacknowledged.

Like a spark of a fire, I saw it, I protected it, and I fed it until it became a flame burning brighter and brighter.

Did I question it?

Oh yes, quite a bit.

Why? How? When? Where? Here?

No, I can’t. But I must.

I don’t know when, but I feel it. It’s coming. It’s meant for me.

This is crazy. I can’t do this.

Then another round of How? When? Where?

I had answered the first two questions.

It didn’t need to be there, and I was beginning to feel why.

That’s how the internal dialogue went.

It’s all about the feeling before anything else.

What is that feeling that sparked this flash?

And it doesn’t have to be a visual like it was for me, it could be something you hear, see, or feel.

What is it for you, right now?

A lot of people chase after the illusive, “I’m not happy here, let me look over there. That must be where happiness is.”

Going somewhere else, switching jobs, ending relationships. Because you’re bored, feeling unfulfilled, or empty, isn’t an answer in itself.

First, it’s important we ask ourselves, why do I want to be over there?

The number one answer is because I’m not happy here.

That’s really not a good answer, if there’s no more detail.

For me, at the root of it, I needed to figure out what that feelings was that I projected onto this spark of a vision.

That was the only part that mattered. That’s the part that’s real.

That’s the desire. That feeling.

Then the better question is what has to take place inside me to have this better feeling I want to have.

Then one of two things can happen.

The better feeling becomes a part of your present situation and there’s no need to look ‘over there’.

Or, if something new is a main part of this feeling, it finds its way to you, no matter how crazy it may sound in your current life, or how difficult or impossible it may seem.

It just works itself out, if it’s truly meant for you.

It’s been a somewhat slow process for me with this particular desire.

It’s taken a few steps.

Do I want an RV or some kind of tiny home?

I’d been fascinated with tiny homes for years.

What kind of RV?

I didn’t really need to think about that, because as soon as I asked the question, it just showed up in my Facebook feed.

Then, the question is where.

That took a couple of moves before finding the right spot.

It’s all fun and part of the refining process of getting clearer on what you want.

Clarification of, “I like this, but not that. How about this instead?”

It’s like sculpting the exact life you want to have, while living it.

It’s really what we’re doing all day, every day.

The process is just more obvious here.

And then one day, I’m standing on my lot, looking at the ocean, ready to move my motorhome to its permanent spot today.

Is it exactly as I imagined it? No. I imagined something a little different in detail. But, overall, yes.

And there’s something very satisfying about acknowledging what came from a spark and now I’m standing in it.

This is real-world co-creation at its most fun.

Today’s Gentle Practice

Notice today if there is a small desire, idea, vision, or feeling you’ve been quietly dismissing because it seems impractical, unrealistic, or too far outside your current life.

Instead of immediately shutting it down, sit with it for a moment.

Ask yourself:

“What is the feeling underneath this desire?”

Freedom?

Peace?

Adventure?

Creativity?

Belonging?

Expansion?

Because the desire itself is not random.

It’s pointing toward an emotional experience your soul is asking you to move toward.

And sometimes the smallest spark ends up changing the direction of your entire life.

With you,

Lynn