Treasure Hunting

I've been spending quite a bit of time searching for treasures lately.  Treasures in my family, treasures in my friends, treasures in our furry and feathery family members, treasures in my beliefs and treasures in the most unexpected of places.  

When my brother died eight months ago, I felt an almost desperate need to make a deeper connection with the earth and also with the heavens.  I experienced a deep-seated need for quiet that was unmatched by any other period of my life.  That need for quiet, a sense of being removed from any unnecessary background chatter, has carried over into today.  I crave it in the same ways that I crave air and food and sleep.  I need to be able to hear the small, quiet whispers of my soul speaking to me from a place that only God can truly understand.  And so, I began searching.  I began looking towards the ethereal places in the clouds and the hard, rocky surfaces of the earth.  I paid more attention to the whispers.  I listened for the quiet.  I allowed myself the space that I needed to search for treasures.

The simple rock that my oldest Angel is wearing around her neck is an example of one of the treasures that made its way into our lives.  I found it on the beach and looked at it as an interesting rock with a hole burrowed through it.  Angel Daughter Number One viewed it as a talisman meant to be corded with a string and tied around her neck.  To me, the hole symbolized a small circle of empty space.  To my daughter, the hole symbolized an area that needed to be filled.  To each of us, this rock is a treasure.
The Pacific Ocean is filled with treasures.  Some of them wash up onto the shore and are discovered during a quiet, soulful walk on the rocky sand.  Others float in on the soft, invisible breezes which drive the waves that crash upon the shores.  Some of those treasures are experienced from the sand, but others must be discovered within the wind-driven waves.
Or sailing upon the undercurrent of the breeze.
Using the unseen as a treasure to glide upon through the salty waters of the ocean.  Using the treasure of the unseen to take flight from the sea.  
Treasures that can solitarily be found in the company of quiet.  
Treasures that can bring you back to the true meaning of why we are here and what most of us spend so much of our lives searching for.  Each search is different, yet the treasures are surprisingly similar.

As I walked along the rocky beach alone with as much silence as my mind would allow, I once again searched for treasures.  As usual, tiny pieces of sea glass and broken sea shells stood out to me and I collected them, one by one.  With each treasure that I discovered, I was able to experience a deeper sense of quiet that set my spirit into a sense of calm.  A seemingly unimportant hunt for something that could tangibly represent my desire to honor my need for some quiet space.  And then I spotted this heart-shaped stone and I knew that within all of the quiet, most of the answers that I find revolve around something fairly simple and organic...Love. 

May you allow yourself the quiet space that you require to search for treasures.  Treasures that inspire your spirit, treasures that move your soul, treasures that help you to listen to your own small, quiet voice.