Last night, a wicked line of thunderstorms rolled through my neighborhood. The dark clouds roiled and undulated until they unleashed a torrent of rain on the world below, and while heavy drops were still falling, the sun shone brightly in the west.
“We’re going to have a rainbow,” I said to my husband. Five minutes later, my daughter yelled, “Rainbow!” at the top of her lungs. I ran upstairs to her bedroom and marveled at the beautiful spectrum of light springing up from a cluster of buildings in the distance.
“It’s Iris painting the sky after Zeus has gone,” my daughter said. We’d just watched Fantasia a few nights before, so the scene she described was still fresh in her mind.
After a few brief moments, the rainbow disappeared, and all that remained were a few snapshots and a hazy memory, one we might abandon later when our minds become busy and cluttered with other things.
I’ve been thinking a lot about mind, and clutter, and clarity. About how fleeting everything is, ourselves included. About the explosively brilliant mornings that often follow the dark and stormy nights, and our roles in the endless, dynamic synergy of existence. About what’s truly important, and how much courage it takes to choose love over fear in a world that wants us to be terrified.
If I’m perfectly honest, fear has gotten the better of me for most of my life. My heart always knows itself, but my head’s forever convincing me that if I follow my heart’s desire, I’ll walk right into the lion’s den.
The worst part is that my head’s not wrong–my heart always wants to take huge risks in life, in love, in business. It wants me to stop thinking practically. It wants me to let go of expectation and ambition and “successful” behavior. It wants me to be fluid and free, and to trust the universe to provide exactly what I need when I need it.
I’ve been following my heart a lot lately, and a lot of what I feared would happen actually has (my head’s really good at predicting outcomes). So much has fallen away, but what truly makes me happy has risen to take its place: love, freedom, and authentic creativity.
When I choose love, freedom, and authentic creativity, the wicked storm that roils within me is released into my material world. What I believed to be indispensable is wrested away, and the well-oiled machine of my life transforms into a fluid, nebulous organism, unpredictable and unknown.
But within me, something amazing appears: a gentle placidity. A clarity of mind, body, and heart. A brilliant rainbow of fulfillment, joy, and happiness. An intuitive knowledge that I’m not only being true to my nature, but to the nature of the cosmos itself.
Sometimes we can only find what we’re looking for when we simply let the storm pass and bask in the brilliance of everything it’s left behind. To the casual onlooker, it may not appear to be much. But to the being who’s finally found peace, it’s everything.
Do you find it difficult to trust your inner peace, Beauty? When you do find peace and happiness, how do you stay connected? Feel free to comment and let me know!
In other news, I finished the Emperor card for the Genius Garden Tarot! I’m not going to lie: generating the concept for this card was reallyhard. Ultimately, I chose to forgo the armor, crown, and throne and transform his scepter into some sort of wizard’s staff. The resulting vibe is less “empire expanding conqueror” and more “magical mountain manifestor.” After many layers of paint, I think I finally managed to render what I was going for.
I usually have two cards finished at this point in the week, but I took a small little hiatus to craft an extensive overview of something I’m actually really excited to create for you!
I’m calling it How to Grow A Genius Garden, and it’s a six-week journey of self-cultivation that fixes burnout, frees your mind, enriches your spirit, and inspires you to live and create from a place of authenticity, trust, and joy.
The coolest thing? It actually mimics the process of planting a garden! You get to work with an enlivening analogy that actually helps you fully understand the process as you move through it on a spiritual and metaphysical level.
Here’s how the journey tentatively shakes down:
Week One: Clear Your Plot
Week Two: Enrich Your Soil
Week Three: Plant Your Seeds
Week Four: Germinate
Week Five: Tend Your Garden
Week Six: Harvest
Within this framework, we’re going to go on a media fast, learn how to meditate simply and easily, remember the joy of doing nothing, realign with our deepest priorities, and carefully choose who and what we welcome into our experience. Through doing all of these things, we’ll gently shape ourselves into the perfect vessels of authentic creativity and remember what it feels like to be connected and free again!
I have so much more to share, but I’m going to hold off for now–be sure to check your inbox for updates! If you haven’t signed up for the newsletter yet, you can do so here.
In addition to outlining How to Grow A Genius Garden, I completely overhauled my sacred space this week! This was the intention that I set a for it: I meditate here. I find clarity here. I feel peace here. I go inward here.
To match this intention, I removed pictures and writing from the walls. I took tools, crystals, and books from the table top. I left only what I needed. So far, I’ve experienced deeper meditation in this space then I have in years.
Everything I do spiritually is simpler now. It’s closer to gentleness, clear-mindedness, and nothing-at-all. My only agenda is “connect,” and if that doesn’t happen, oh well.
Spirituality is not just another task to add to my list, and honestly, I couldn’t be happier!
So Much Love and See You Soon,
Jessi
Want more goodness? I’ve got you covered <3
Leave a Reply