I love autumn! Having barely left my house I can't help but notice these vibrant, yet perfectly still, red leaves. Despite the apparent paradox, that's exactly how I am feeling on The Path today. Vibrant and alive yet, calm and still. It occurs to me that being vibrant doesn't necessarily mean bouncing around and doing stuff, it can be just as easily experienced in quieter moments when through the stillness we simply ooze life.



 

Ok, so everything is information. Quantum science is confirming what the wise have known all along. That's great! Or at least it would be were not most of the information invisible to us. Thankfully, this is where the power of metaphor can help - by bringing what is ordinarily unseen, to light. In doing so, we get to experience moments of clarity, from which springs enlightenment about ourselves and our reality.

Although accessing the power of metaphor as I walk in nature is the basis of this blog, The Path doesn't have to be literal. I choose to walk in nature simply because I am better able to hear what I am thinking and feel what I am feeling. Though, first and foremost, I do it because I enjoy it. The truth is, we are on our path wherever we are, whatever we are doing, and regardless of whether we are aware of it. Today happens to be one of those on the path @ home days where I find myself contemplating…coffee.

Over the last year or two, having never been a coffee-drinker, I seem to have developed a penchant for a certain instant cappuccino drink and I'm curious why. Part of me is concerned that the caffeine is having an effect on me that, were I able to see the bigger picture, I most likely wouldn't choose. The other part of me knows coffee, as with everything in life, is essentially neither "good" nor "bad" but simply a choice of experience. It may well have an effect but doesn't everything? What the hell, just enjoy it! And so, a dialogue with myself ensues regarding what it is about this instant cappuccino drink that I like so much:

Well, it's the creaminess and the warmth.
Ok, warmth is a nice feeling, I get that. But what's so good about creaminess?
Creaminess feels…full, and luxurious. (A treat, after all those miserable fat-free years!)
Anything else?
…it's instant!
So, you are wanting to experience warmth, fullness, luxury, now! That makes sense, but what I also notice is you tend to want one when you are feeling a little edgy. 
Yes, I like the idea of settling down with a nice creamy cappuccino. 
But caffeine is a stimulant.
So it is! 
So your intention is to calm your already jumpy nervous system by drinking a stimulant?
I never thought of it like that. Doesn't make an awful lot of sense, does it?
Not really.
The buzz of having what (I think) I want when I want it gives me short-term relief but I guess long term it might be contributing to the edginess, the headaches I've been getting, and the general lack of clarity.
It's possible.
So what do I do? Deny myself? I tired of that.
No, you deserve to experience warmth, fullness, and luxury, in this moment. As do we all. The question is; are there any other ways in which you can access these experiences. Ways, perhaps, that aren't detrimental to your long-term health and happiness. The warmth of contact, family and friends perhaps? The fullness of your being, as you allow yourself to simply be? The luxury of your health and alive-ness? Here and Now. 
Aha, so the instant creamy cappuccino is a metaphor! It is showing me what I am missing in this moment. That the warmth, the fullness and the luxury is already here. I just got distracted by the busi-ness of life. I simply forgot.
Well, when I put it like that, the coffee doesn't seem so appealing after all!

…I wonder what it would be like to chat with Me like this all the time?
Hmmm. Indeed! 
;-)