Since I was a small child, I have been fascinated with the beauty of human eyes.
When I was four or five years old, hanging around the adults at my parents’ parties, I found myself captivated by a striking contrast. Most adults, it seemed to me, had eyes that were dull or lifeless. It was as if they weren’t quite “home.” But every once in a while, I would encounter someone with Light shining through their eyes.
It was spellbinding. It took my breath away.
By my early teens, I gathered the courage to start asking these “shining ones” about their secret. I would approach them and say, “I can’t help but notice the light in your eyes. How do you keep that going?” To my surprise, they always knew exactly what I was talking about. They spoke of love, of their children, of their curiosity, and of their commitment to being a lifelong student of the world. They had found a way to maintain a childlike innocence even into their seventies.
A Life Lived Awake and Aglow
That early fascination became the bedrock of my life’s passion. I made a quiet intention in my heart back then: I wanted to live in such a way that my light shined out of my eyes all the way to the end of my days.
Throughout my fifty years of counseling, I have found that this light is not a random gift of biology. Again and again, I’ve seen that a light shining in someone’s eyes was always a reflection of how deeply they had chosen to engage with life. It was the natural result of how they have harvested their life experiences—the tragedies and the victories alike. I consistently found that these individuals did not let themselves be consumed with pain and bitterness.
When we are “home” in ourselves, we become available to the extraordinary miracle of living. We stop managing appearances and start inhabiting the present moment. We shine….
Each Soul has a Unique Constellation of Life Experiences
Whenever I am sharing with someone, personally or professionally, I allow my childlike curiosity to be my lead. I often become like a student paying attention to the unique constellation of their life experiences that carried depth and aliveness. Each person Ive ever met is utterly unique—there has never been anyone like them before, and there never will be again.
As a counselor, each and every day, I am invited into these deeper, often profoundly private places within the human heart—whether joys and the pains. I am blessed to discover and reflect to them how their unique depth is showcasing itself. in their lives. I hear it in their stories; I see it in their faces.
This aliveness is available to all of us. If we are wise and fortunate, it is regularly kindled in the “little moments” that unfold throughout our days—the way we greet the delivery driver at our door, the way we listen to a loved one with sincerity and love, or the way we allow ourselves to be touched by a sunset.
It is a moment-to-moment, learned practice of “Being available for what life is offering us right now.”
A Question for Your Journey
As you move through your day, I invite you to turn inward with a sense of curiosity.
What are the qualities in your unique journey that keep your light shining? Perhaps it is your capacity for forgiveness, your dedication to your craft, or the unique way you see and cherish your loved ones. Whatever those strands of living may be, I encourage you to honor them. Knowing and treasuring that light opens us to a steady flow of golden experiences on this planet.
Blessings upon your path of awakening,
Gavin
Work With Me
The journey back to your authentic self is the hero’s journey of this lifetime. If you are dedicated to evolving, becoming more conscious—and releasing the unconscious patterns you carry inside—I invite you to explore my website and schedule a complimentary 45-minute conversation with me to explore the possibility of us working together.
