There are few things more comforting than a piping hot bowl of oatmeal, scented with cinnamon, sweetened with local honey and studded with pecans and blueberries (well, I’m in California, so walnuts are off my list for the moment, it’s all organic and I’m enjoying the berry season instead of the mangoes this year). It’s a cloudy, chilly morning and a light drizzle starts just as I finish breakfast. My little balcony is a serene spot overlooking a rich emerald lawn that shimmers with raindrops today. It’s a nice change from the golden sunshine that’s marked most of my visit so far. I contemplate something that one of my closest girlfriends said to me the other day: how places change spaces. It reminds me, powerfully, that I’m in this place, half a world away from home, because around six months ago, I uttered a quiet declaration to myself to be here,not really knowing how it was going to happen.
It’s a potent reminder of how creating new possibilities starts with language; we too often miss the magic of that since we’re so immersed in it. Every single day we use language to either describe our world or to create something new. While descriptions necessarily live in the past or present, declarations take you a step (or a leap) forward, shifting your present into a different future. Making a declaration and saying it out loud either to yourself or to another (or writing it down) has a powerful way of quietly taking root when it spills out of your being. You will see how it grows and takes shape as action follows your words. It’s bound to. That’s how it works. It’s as if everything in the universe conspires to make it happen; you leave the how part to whatever it is you believe in.
It’s worth mentioning here that there are a few critical ingredients for any sort of magic to happen. To create the space for new possibilities to be declared into, line up the energy first, for which you will find solitude, silence and organising how you feel are key; be clear about your intention – for the sake of what are you declaring? What do you want to see different in your life tomorrow, in one year, in five years? What other questions do you need to ask yourself so that you have clarity? Sometimes, that takes a while – and you may find yourself tweaking your declaration till it feels right and sits well with you. Frame it to be as specific and succinct as possible – choose your words with care, give it a timeframe, keep it simple and from your heart, write it down, say it out loud, say it to someone you’re close to. Notice how it makes you feel, notice how you begin to embody it, notice what begins to shift. And then let it go do its work.
I’ve been reminded enough recently how ephemeral life and its experiences can be. If I remember to stay open to things unfolding in different ways than I envisioned (yes, that happens as well), it’s easier to accept the times when the universe decides to do some tweaking for me. As long as I trust in the pace, life continues to unfold and there are always moments for which I have much gratitude. As in any journey, we can get lost, we can stumble and we certainly will fall. What defines our lives and us is what we do then: fear, hesitation and the safety of our comfort zones can make us cling to old patterns. Courage takes us to new spaces and places, to creating a different future. And the magic of language makes that happen.
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