Malik Watkins's Bloglines

As time has passed by, so have things, people, mental orientations, passions and moments.  Some have devolved and then evolved into something greater.  Originally, I started this blog to share as I worked and traveled overseas.  But, as I have traveled, a more fulfilling purpose has evolved.  So now it isn’t just the international experience, it is now more of those experiences that feed the longing of a soul for peace through expression.  I’ve never been one to just focus singularly on things, things get old.  They disintegrate.  However, experiences are something that can remain.  We can reach back and pull them forward, as the mind allows, and re-live them over and over again.

Over these years, these experiences have been so rich and full of the living experience.  But sometimes the constant day to day existence of life’s experiences can, at times, dull the pure exhilaration of those initial moments of discovery.  Not unique to me, but the complexity of life can, at times, make this happen.  Then, it becomes time to purposefully pull these experiences forward as a reminder of the type of life that doesn’t just happen, but one that we can create.

And so, moving beyond the limitations of a singular focus on the international to bring those previous moments back to life….I answer my souls longing to move beyond the immediacy of frustration, pain, misunderstanding or the occasional shallowness of the human judgement to that which is greater…the nature of things!!

It is said that, “when I was a child I spoke, reasoned, and thought as a child, but when I grew up I put away childish things.”  As this child, I remember adults saying things such as “that person needs to find themselves”; I couldn’t relate as a child and would ponder, “why does a person need to find themselves when they are right there with their self…Ahh…how life can teach you many things 🙂  It is also said, travel until you find yourself…so here we are…

A few years ago, life allowed me to experience the Pacific Coast Highway on the Coast of California – Highway 1.  Its reputation, of course, supersedes what some would call the domestic experience.   It reality cannot be captured by a domestic or international context.  It is beyond such, to experience it is to sit on the edge of the great beyond.

This picture is worth clicking on….beyond the sight of it, what do you feel in the longing of your soul?  We go to the mountains, to the beach…we visit sites, we cherish our sights…all of these are lovely indeed.  But why do we love it…yes it stimulates the senses…peace can come with it…we can see the water and it is beautiful…hear the waves…smell the water…whether it is sunny or not it is the same…we can feel the sand and the water…sometimes we can even taste it all…

But, we become more aware of something else…being right there within or so close to this huge mass…this mass that covers 3/4ths of the earth…that gives balance…if you open your soul…and become aware of how its longing connects you to what you are experiencing…can you feel the power, this magnetism…the force that in many ways balances the earth…can you feel it inside of yourself…even if that level of awareness is not yet developed…can you feel inside of yourself where it is supposed to connect…and how that connection draws you in to becoming even more connected, through various modes, to what is permanent, solid and real…and in becoming aware of that experience…we realize what is insignificant…

Can we use that feeling…that awareness to assess the other things to which we are connected…can we use it to improve the quality of our relations with people, with our environment…or most importantly…with ourselves…what is our very real solid experience and what are we projecting on to ourselves and others…

Is our path to living what we want to live being blocked by something that we are projecting…that is also something to work on…but, the process has started…and can be used…

Driving up the coast, can be a soul touching experience, if we are open.  Very few guide rails, no separation between the sides of the cliffs and what is beneath…admittedly heights can put me in the fetal position 🙂  And as we proceed, just like in life…we can get to a point where we at the same level as the clouds and eventually look down upon them…much food for thought…

I couldn’t by-pass this little one 🙂  And as nature goes, so can we…if we allow ourselves to feel and accept our feelings….We can evolve and grow into that place of our peace….so many examples of this are exist along the Pacific Coast Highway.  With all the travails, what can allow us to find peace.  Compassion for others, reflecting on the value of human life – including our own…

Ahh…what would it be to experience rest like this – whether awake or sleep – the ‘peace be still’…. to understand the place of those things that stress us and separate us from peace…what is peace?  It doesn’t mean necessarily to be free from pain, regret, heart ache, dissension, loneliness, etc.  In fact, it is more aligned with allowing those feelings to exist, but being able to make peace with them.  We each have to find what is our individual peace…but, somehow indeed, that peace is still connected to others through compassion, empathy, understanding, forgiveness, patience…and the list goes on…

We can realize how small we actually are compared to the larger dynamic…but that requires walking the hard path…a friend asked me if my blog was moving more towards a spiritual base..my reply is…if you read a really good book, doesn’t it add to the quality of certain things about you?  well, to travel the world and absorb the human experience of others, to experience working in a country after a civil war, to see the implications of soul to soul acts of human depravity, to sit in temples thousands of years old demonstrating human and spiritual devotion, to lend a hand when someone needs it, or receive,  it regardless to a language or cultural gap, to see such magnificent expressions when people focus on excellence, to learn a Tango – not the steps – but the interpreted intention of expressions of the soul seeking comfort…well, certain things should change you…especially if you are simultaneously seeking to calm your soul and refine your own expressions…go below the surface and above the clouds…wishing you and myself – PEACE!!