The Art of Being

I went up to Sedona Arizona recently with friends. That trip was much needed and thoroughly enjoyed. On this trip, I did not bring any technology. I left it all behind. (Well, technically I brought a camera because the historian in me insisted that this trip not go undocumented.) However, I never used the camera. And here's why:

I needed to practice the Art of Being.

Yes, it is an art. I have this problem with being somewhere in body and not in mind. So my body sits here and my mind is miles away. Oftentimes I am pondering some deep subject and that pondering produces wonderful epiphanies and beautiful thoughts. But I'm missing life. I'm missing what's right before me when I do that constantly. I'd had enough. I unplugged and truly focused on being where I was.

Those two days were beautiful. My soul felt so alive. I was rather quiet on the first day because I was simply absorbing so much. I felt as if I had been given new eyes and ears. I felt as if the sunshine was brighter, the colors more vibrant, my friends voices were more rich, the sensation of the wind in my face was more crisp, and the world was laid before me anew. I took it all in. I stared outside my window for hours. I rolled down the window and stuck my hand out as we drove. That may seem small to most of you, but it was so freeing to me. I'd never done it before. The cool wind was blowing and I felt like I was flying. The wind made my outstretched arm feel weightless and the breathtaking views made my heart soar. That was the greatest moment of the entire trip, I think. I was in ecstasy. It was the truest, purest joy that I have felt in a long time.

Not once did I wonder what was happening on social media. Not once did I get lost in deep thought. And that was okay. I felt free and new. I felt like I had learned and gained more wisdom than my hours of pondering could produce. It is absolutely delightful to be in mind where you are in body. I was there. I connected with the Earth. I connected with my friends. I felt grounded and yet free to soar.

I just closed my eyes and felt the joy of Being. What a glorious thing it is to Just Be!!!! To just deeply live and truly connect. It is absolutely magnificent.

I feel like I have been learning a lot about gifts lately. Last time I wrote about the gift of voice. And this is the gift of being. There is such power in simple and authentic living. It is absolutely marvelous. I felt the power of my soul. I felt the exhilaration of living. And I could do it for the rest of my life. Pun totally intended.

I wish I could adequately share with you this powerful feeling of being that I feel! I implore you to try it. Just simply be in mind where you are in body.

Connect. Live. Breathe. Be free.

It is powerful! SO powerful. It is amazing and beautiful and just simply breathtaking. It's a wonderful life we live, my friends.

She Speaks Truth

Lately I have felt a powerful desire to share what I know.

The more truth I learn, the more I see how it applies. And. I want to help people. I want to share what I know. I want to see truth heal them.

I recently talked with a dear friend of mine for just over three hours straight. Not uncommon for friends, I know. But I talked. I am kind of quiet and reserved and often there are so many thoughts in my mind that I don't express. But this time it was different. I spoke. She spoke. We talked of so many things. Of light things. Of joyful things. Of deep things. Of painful things. It was absolutely magnificent and marvelous. As I left that night, my mouth felt sore. Not like it hurt, but like it wasn't used to being used so much. I don't think that I had spoken and expressed my thoughts that much in at least a year if not longer. And I realized what an incredible gift it is to speak. I was able to use this voice of mine to laugh, to sing, and to share truths that I learned. I had spoken.

And I thought: "What am I using this voice for? What words do I want to speak?" I contemplated these questions. I want to speak truth. I want to share what I believe. I want to share what I know. I want to be a girl that people listen to and say: "She speaks truth."

And so the courage to start this blog was found. I've decided that I need to speak. I need to share my unique perspective. This is what this whole blog is about. I've titled it "Ellie's Reality" because it is just that. You'll get to see life through my eyes. It will be very authentic and vulnerable, but it will be my reality. I can promise you it won't be eloquent. It won't always be pretty. It will be flawed. But I can also promise you that it will be beautiful. For I want to share with you the beauty I see. I want to show you what a magnificent world we live in, and hopefully inspire you to go out and experience it. It's the greatest thing. Things as they really are help us to become so much more than if things were the way we want them. So let's embrace things the way they really are and become.

"We make a life by what we give."

(Winston Churchill)  

 So give it everything you've got; give it your all, your whole focus, your whole determination, your whole love, your whole soul.