There are moments when you are living your life…
and also watching it as both participant and observer.
It happens when we remember to see. Not just look—but see. To notice that we are here…and also witnessing ourselves.
We are it and not it.
As I sit in stillness, nature all around me, I am the observer. I am not it. And yet—I am part of it, the one witnessing, in awe.
When I am awake enough in my life, I become both participant and observer. I am living it and watching it unfold. I am it—and not it. And in that subtle distinction, I am present.
The Sacred Pause
When challenges arise, we can step back as the observer. A sacred pause. A breath. A quiet return to awareness.
When I see it, I am not lost in it.
From here, something becomes available. Not force, not control—but presence. A higher response. A wider field of awareness. The space to meet the moment rather than be swept inside it.
Training the Observer
In time, we learn to live as both participant and observer.
This way of being is not accidental. It is practiced.
Practices of stillness, movement, breathwork, quiet awe, and being in nature train us to be both participants and observers.
As Seth Godin says, “We are not in traffic. We are traffic.”
If we are traffic, then we can also be stillness, movement, breath, awe, and nature.
Powerful Allies
Wisdom enters through the gate of awe.
In difficult moments, awe and curiosity become powerful allies. Instead of tightening, we wonder: What might I not be seeing? What is this here to show me?
Awe keeps us humble. Curiosity keeps us open.
We Are It and Not It
My beloved teacher, Mariane Karou, says: “Train before you need it—because you will need it.”
Our reactions demonstrate our level of training.
Every day is an opportunity to train our state of being.
As the moon reflects the sun, we reflect our environment—and it reflects us. When we are present and awake, we can reflect a brighter light.
We can elevate the energy in a room with awareness and a loving heart. We can be the love. We can be the joy. We can be the clarity needed in any situation.
When we bring the light, we are the light. When we show up with love, we are love.
We are life—living, moving, responding. And we are also the awareness witnessing it, as both participant and observer.
We are it. And we are not it.
And in that paradox, we find our freedom.
~ ✦ ~
P.S. If this speaks to something quietly awakening within you, stay close. This is a practice—a way of returning, again and again, to presence, love, and joy.