Paradise is where you choose to see it

The abundance vortex & the miracle of existence

I’ve been saying thank you more than ever.

Thank you to nothing. Thank you to everything.

Thank you no one. Thank you to everyone.

Living on this planet is nothing short of miraculous. And that realization has resided steadily within my mind.

I am in awe of the tremendous amount of factors that have come together to support my existence. Our existence.

If the earth were just a bit farther away from the sun, around 1.5 astronomical units or more, it would no longer be able to support life in the form we recognize today. The same goes for if it were a bit closer.

If our planet’s oxygen levels were about 6% lower, if its magnetic field were weaker, if its speed of rotation were different, if the salinity of its oceans weren’t so finely balanced, if its axial tilt were different and the moon wasn’t there to stabilize it… life on earth no longer exists as we know it.

You no longer exist. I no longer exist.

We no longer exist.

What a gift it is to be here.

What a gift it is to witness the beauty of this world we inhabit, and to benefit from the incalculable amount of conditions that support that inhabitation.

And we get to be aware of that gift. We get to recognize just how fortunate we are.

People wish for miracles in their lives, overseeing the fact that their very life is a miracle. It’s a miracle that we are here.

From the crisp air that fills our lungs to the warmth of the sun on our skin and the gentle rustle of leaves in the wind, this paradise envelops us at every turn, even when we're too caught up in our own thoughts to notice.

Something special is happening in my life.

As I express my gratitude for these wonders, I find that they multiply in abundance. It's as if my appreciation unlocks a never-ending wellspring of beauty and blessings that flow into my awareness… many of which were always there, but previously overlooked.

Lately, I’ve felt a sense of deep reverence for nearly everything in my environment. It’s like I’m experiencing the most familiar things as if for the first time.

It’s like looking through a new lens, one that transforms everything before my eyes.

Each instance, no matter how small, feels like a sacred piece of something greater, something worth beholding, rejoicing.

The best part is that none of these changes I’ve experienced are due to my circumstances changing. It’s my perspective that has shifted.

If anything, some of my recent circumstances would have sent me into depression years ago. But I’m more at peace than ever before. And that peace is unshakeable.

There is bliss in my days.

My mind is still. My heart is open.

I’m free of my stories. Free of my judgments. Free of my attachments.

I say this is the best part because this means this way of being is sustainable.

It’s real. It’s stable.

External changes come and go. When our peace, joy, and well-being are tethered to them, it’s like our internal world is leashed by life, pulled high and low through its ups and downs.

I’m untethered.

This internal shift has nothing to do with circumstance, aside from the circumstance that I am here.

I am alive.

And I have the agency to choose how I live. I have the creative power to shape my experience of reality.

I choose to see beauty, so beauty is what I see.

And what I see, I see more of.

You’ve heard it before. What you appreciate, appreciates.

By focusing on the blessings already present in my life, regardless of how ordinary they may seem, I have found that they blossom before me. As I recognize and give thanks for the goodness in my life, that goodness only continues to grow.

This doesn't mean that life is suddenly free from challenges. It simply means that those challenges no longer affect my inner world, nor do they distract me from recognizing just how much of this miraculous existence is effortless.

I don’t have to ask my heart to beat. It just does.

I don’t have to earn this air I breathe. It’s just there.

I don’t have to pray for the sun to rise. It just rises.

This change in perspective doesn't alter the world around me; rather, it transforms the way I experience it.

It allows me to fully embrace and appreciate the gifts right here, right now. And when we open ourselves up to those gifts, life becomes more vibrant, fulfilling and giving.

The more grateful I am for what is already here, the more life gives me to be grateful for.

This is the abundance vortex.

It's a cycle of gratitude and blessings that only deepens with acknowledgment and appreciation.

What we’re looking for, we’ll find.

If we look for magic, we’ll discover it.

If we look for beauty, it will be shown to us.

If we look for miracles, they will be revealed.

This life is paradise - all we have to do is see it as such.