We have all had those moments in our lives where something unexpected came to us and, pouring itself in, left us breathless… perhaps as simple as rounding a bend and catching sight of a distant, breathtaking vista, or just being in the right place to see the play of last daylight on waxen leaves waving their yellows and greens within shadow-drenched trees. Maybe there was something in that special stillness of an early morning that said, without words, “All is well.” Or, for those so blessed, Grace herself made her always-welcome, unexpected appearance.

In these surprising moments you see that there is another world, another life. You realize that whatever you had thought yourself to be only the moment before is not the whole story, and that there is so much more. Everything shifts and for a moment the former is no more. The new is all there is. And in this unexpected light something blooms in you. Here is where the true seeker is born.

But perils and promises often arrive together. Without being awake to yourself in these transformational times, an unseen want is born within you, a longing to relive or gain control over your uplifting experience. And, in the same instant as this desire takes shape, another expectation is created… [to be continued]