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In the movie, The Doctor, starring William Hurt as Dr. Jack McKee, who discovers what it is like as a patient when he is diagnosed with cancer. He befriends June Ellis, a fellow cancer patient who has an inoperable brain tumor. A great movie to re-consider what is really important in life, as Dr. McKee did in this case. There is a scene in the movie where Dr. McKee returns to a place where he had confronted June’s mortality and after she had recently died. As he sat there alone, pondering the reality of her death, he reached down and picked up granules of sand. It was in this moment that he had an awakening, a time when he appeared to have connected with consciousness. These are powerful moments we can experience in our life as we set aside our thoughts and emotions and lose ourselves into the moment.
I was walking my dogs in a park when I observed for a moment a crow as they were breaking twigs from a tree and carrying them off to another tree where they were building a nest. I was in amazement to how this creature knew to do this and with such great efficiency. How did the crow learn to do this. If it is instinctual, what does that mean? How was this knowledge gained? How then did this behavior evolve I thought. These are the deep and profound questions that helped me contemplate life vs. just reacting to it which feels like 99% of my time. I recalled watching a documentary on crows which showed that they had behaviors that demonstrated empathy and caring. There was a scene where the crows congregated around a fellow crow that lie dead on the ground. There were moments of silence and then they all left. I had witnessed this myself recently sitting on my porch. What amazing creatures, as all creatures are. Most people seem to be critical of crows, abhorring their habits loud cackle and feeding off the waste. This reminded me of the good that is in everything and how important it is to focus on the good vs. the bad.
I was immersed in the moment in deep and contemplative thought and silence. The focus was in the moment and observing life around me at that moment. I made a conscious choice to observe everything that was around me. Here is an account of this experience as a means of suggesting to you to find ways to lose yourself in the moment and be in the now, only to discover the amazing elements of life and beyond. I had returned to being a 5 year-old with their wonder of WHY. It is too bad many of us lost this behavior. Our inquisitiveness naturally leads to wanting a deeper understanding of things. As we learn how to quiet the mind, we clear the way for answers to come. This is the most amazing aspect of connecting with consciousness.
I will emphasize some thoughts in this experience since they were interconnected with the experience itself. It began with the crow and the wonderment of what I was observing and everything that went into this moment. There was contemplation regarding how this crow came to be here. It had to be born which begins as its conception which produces an egg. Absolutely amazing to think about how an egg casing comes to be, and holding within the ingredients to bear new life. I recalled watching a baby crow getting kicked out of the nest. The parents were close by to protect the baby from the elements, who also prodded the baby bird to fly. It flew in short bursts followed by rest, which was repeated many times over. From nest to flying in only a few hours. Imagine having never flown before and now learning how to spread your wings. How did this all come to be? Miraculous.
As the crow flew I realized that in order to make this possible there had to be air. In fact air is vital to all life here on Earth. I observed in amazement as I breathed in this substance, invisible yet so essential. The breeze was present only because air exists. The leaves of the trees were dancing, all because of air. But there had to be a force to move this air around. What is this force and how did it come to be? I see the weather every day, but am clueless to how all of this works together. The sun, the moon, water, gravity, and so much more, all playing its part. Miraculous.
As I continued the walk I looked below my feet to see the soil and grass that I was walking on. I felt my steps fall clearly on these substances. Why did I remain on the surface and not fall through all these substances? If you zoom in to see the molecular and atomic level of these substances we would see mostly air. How does each of these substances come together to form a physical form? How did the pebbles and stones arrive here. Going deeper than this I contemplated the elements that make up all of life as we know it. Do we really know why matter exists and what was its source? Why did the Earth develop out of the big bang? And from this water, air, land, resources which then became buildings, cars, people, and more. This was all so mindblowing to consider. There is no way this could all be a coincidence, but instead a result of some major force behind all of life.
Looking at the blades of grass I realized that each blade came from a seed. What is a seed and how did these come to be? What is the life force within that seed to transforms the elements into life. It requires soil and somehow obtains nutrients from the soil. How does this transfer take place. What are these nutrients and how did they come to be? C’mon, this is absolutely amazing. In any direction I looked were new wonders, questions and amazement. I had let go of my mind as I pondered the unknown. My mind and ego wanted me to focus more on “important” things such as my day planner, upcoming appointments, financial matters and more. What a wonderful break from all these thoughts. I felt connected somehow to this greater force and thankful for the millions and billions of things that had to happen to allow me to be here right now and in this moment.
We live in a world of distractions keeping us from experiencing these moments. Thought alone is a major distraction, much less the daily going on’s with our lives. The result of my moments at the park this day reminded me of the real blessing of life itself. If we each knew this there is no way we would ever threaten each other or our Earth. We would cherish what we have in this moment, appreciating that even a next moment would be. We would return home realizing that the car or bus we are in, is a result of so many amazing things, along with the fact that we have a home to go to. And in this home are so many things that somehow produce heat, electricity, comfort, the food we eat. And then we turn to the most amazing miracles that we helped to create, our children. Just look at them for a moment and realizing everything that had to happen to bring them into existence, and everything that lies within that body to maintain their life. And then they come up and say Mommy which is the incredible connection we have created.
This is the power of being in the moment and realizing all the miracles that are happening every second to allow this precious thing called life to exist. Quiet your mind and listen with your heart. You will quickly find yourself in another dimension. We are in the most magical place in existence. It is heaven when we experience it like this, and hell when ignore this. And this is the choice we are allowed to make with our lives.
About Me
Michael is an award winning author, speaker, facilitator and coach on the topics of Personal Growth, Self-Discovery and Enlightenment. Visit my website for more information (growhumanpotential.com).
