Freshness

Noticing What We Carry, So We Can Engage With Fresh Eyes

“There is vitalilty in everything. The entire cosmos is radiant with vitality.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

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Dear Friends,

I recently bought some chard at the farmers market. When I first brought it home, it was vibrant—crisp, alive, full of energy. I could both see and feel its freshness.

Four days later, when I reached into the vegetable drawer, the chard was still technically "good," but something had faded. Its vitality had diminished.

Then I had the inquiry: Are humans so different?

We may wake up each morning with eyes open and bodies moving, but are we truly awake?

Are we fresh and alive, or are we wilted by the weight of regrets, frustrations, resentments, and anxieties?

When we look at those around us—our family, our friends—do we truly see them, or have they become mere background noise?

Foreground is our problems, whatever they may be. And vitality is missing.

Nourishing Aliveness

Recently, I've found myself consumed by global concerns—politics, artificial intelligence, the future of our planet. Important issues, indeed. Yet my preoccupation with them can leave me feeling heavy and drained.

I asked myself:

Are these concerns—even potential future scenarios like killer AI robots which I do worry about—worth losing the simple, irreplaceable freshness of this moment?

After all, I honestly have no idea what the future holds. But I do know one thing: in this moment, here I am.

What Occupies

We can be occupied by countless issues, from people to world events. Regardless of our views about figures like Trump or someone else, the deeper inquiry is: How are we allowing the world to wilt and weigh us down?

What would it mean to wake up and experience life with fresh eyes?

It is easy to know what helps chard be fresh (sunlight, water, good soil) but what helps each of us?

And can we then use that to do our work in the world? If we are not fueled, not fresh, whatever we do will lack energy and effectiveness.

So what supports your own freshness and vitality?

I’ll leave this as an open question for you. For me, I’m going to stop writing, and head out for a walk :-)

I hope you too find time today for whatever nourishes a sense of aliveness, whatever helps you meet the world with fresh eyes.

Blessings,

SOREN

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My lessons from various journeys, including world walks, Wisdom 2.0, teaching in juvenile halls and more.