It has been said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. And, as much as I believe this is true, I also believe that every window has two vantage points—one for seeing in and one for seeing out.
What is most familiar to a soul is its own image, and it is constantly drawn to what it recognizes as itself. When our eyes stop to gaze on something magnificent, when the view is so magical that it takes our breath away, it is our soul reaching out to touch the miracle of its own reflection.
I have been asked many times why I have chosen to fill the pages of my Web site, Quantum-Grace.com, with nature photography. The answer is simple. Focusing on the beauty around us is a gentle reminder of what we are made of. From the smallest dewdrop to the largest mountain the beauty that surrounds us is who we really are, and it is our choice to see it or not to see it.
If it is majestic mountains our eyes are drawn to, we are being reminded of our own enduring strength. If it is the center of a rose, we are reminded of our tenderness and innocence. Oceans reflect the power, rhythm, and grace of our eternal selves, and a drop of rain, our simplicity.
We are often encouraged to close our eyes and look within. This is something I do myself, every day. But in a world sometimes overflowing with persuasive randomity and magnetic emotion, it is not always possible to maintain the peacefulness of inner vision. The Universe is very practical, however, and sometimes our greatest revelations come when we open our eyes and see all that we are made of right before us.
Free will is having the right to choose what to focus on and what not to focus on, and your choice of focus is your rite of passage. It’s as if we are each holding a camera, and while looking out through a tiny “eye,” we have the freedom to focus on whatever brings us joy.
You don’t have to focus on what doesn’t make you happy?just move the camera a little to the left or a little to the right until you find the awe-inspiring landscape of your soul. These are the pictures worth a thousand words because these are the pictures of your own integrity and beauty, and they’re the only ones worth keeping.
On a daily basis we are surrounded with the energy of millions of people going millions of places doing millions of things. If we allow ourselves to get caught up in their pictures, we are allowing others to determine what we should be looking at and focusing on, and we miss the magical progress of our own natural evolution.
Nature is the mirror of humanity, and it reflects the affirmations of the soul. Within nature are found the same qualities that our own spiritual essence holds. The qualities of strength, courage, passion, patience, trust, and love are within us as well as outside us. And it is up to us to notice them.
We need not hurry as there is no urgency in evolution; and we need not scale Mt. Everest to claim a view of our own endless magnificence. It takes only a moment to look out a window and find the bluest edge of the sky. Honor yourself today, and immerse yourself in what you are made of—remembering that it’s not the room you are in that determines who you are, but the exquisite view on which you focus that is you.
** This article is one of 101 great articles that were published in 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life. To get complete details on “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life”, visit http://www.selfgrowth.com/greatways2.html.
Heather O’Hara is an award-winning author who encourages us to look beyond the ordinary and find the extraordinary. A contributing editor for various publications and author of two books, AXIS, The Song in the Center of the Soul and Living on Level 7 (Choosing a Life with a View), her passion for inspiring others has evolved into a wealth of empowering articles; many collections of original poetry; and a free, inspirational newsletter that is now received in more than a third of the world’s countries. For more information on Heather O’Hara, please visit her Web site, http://www.Quantum-Grace.com.