The One Question I Forgot To Ask

New Meditation is HERE.

There’s no denying it’s a complicated relationship.

It’s both playful and tense.

I can’t tell if fear or joy is the dominant emotion.

Or whether it’s about self-defense or simply having a carefree adventure. 

I’m talking, of course, about Vlad’s confusing relationship with the Vacuum Cleaner.

And unfortunately it’s the one question I forgot to ask the Animal Communicator we had a session with today.

Vlad warily observing this alien invader…and then deciding he must attack / defend.

I knew what themes were in the ballpark for this month’s new meditation HERE but hadn’t quite settled on it until today right before recording it.

I create content from what I’m experiencing in the moment, and for me right now it’s about some deeper inquiries.

Part of that is shifting focus, both narrowing and expanding it as required.

Another part is letting go of preconceptions and seeing what’s really there.

Clarity, in other words.

And a final part is just deciding to pay attention.

Suddenly, the right word became clear:

It’s all about Discovery.

I think about this Robert Frost poem all the time when I’m in the smaller dog park on our roof.

In the baseball field, it’s pretty necessary to always keep one eye on your dog.

In the rooftop dog run, however, many times my fellow humans get lost in a text-storm, oblivious to what’s going on right in front of them.

Their best friends are having the time of their lives––or like Vlad, desperate for some connected fun––and yet we, like Frost’s beachgoers, remain focused on the Neo-platonic reality of Instagram.

Neither Out Far Nor In Deep

The people along the sand
All turn and look one way.
They turn their back on the land.
They look at the sea all day.
As long as it takes to pass
A ship keeps raising its hull;
The wetter ground like glass
Reflects a standing gull.
The land may vary more;
But wherever the truth may be—
The water comes ashore,
And the people look at the sea.
They cannot look out far.
They cannot look in deep.
But when was that ever a bar
To any watch they keep?

Quite frankly, even more than where you decide to look, it’s that you decide to look in the first place.

I haven’t yet decided if I want to take on any more Creative Clients this fall for one-on-one consulting.

I find working that way deeply rewarding but I have to decide if my schedule allows for it.

If I do think there’s space, I’ll announce some aptly named “Discovery Sessions.”

(I’m bringing it up now since this resonates so clearly with the month’s mediation’s THEME.)

Please note: these sessions are never just about discovering whether a working relationship is a good idea.

It’s also a chance to learn something new for both parties. 

Discovery Sessions are 20-minute Deep Dives into what someone wants and what’s standing in their way…and then, yes, if I’m the person who can help them.

I still remember flashes of conversations from a decade ago when I first started taking on clients.

Of those who were not a match, I’m very curious how many of those projects, how many of those dreams, came to fruition.

And since I’m personally in Deep Discovery Mode, I’m asking those same questions of myself.

In all honesty, I’m not sure where I officially stand on animal communication.

(I wrote once a while back about a friend who used a communicator to consult with their cat on their PhD thesis at a prestigious university HERE.)

Anyway, this is my third such session.

The two prior ones were generously gifted.

One was for Belle near her passing.

The other was for Vlad that incorporated some energy work with lots of practical training guidance.

They were completely different and both were very helpful.

Since Vlad’s latest escapade––running out of the baseball park to play with another dog––for now he’s lost his off-leash privileges (of course) and I’ve intensified all aspects of his training.

Believing a session couldn’t hurt, might just help, and would DEFINITELY make a good story, we dove in together.

And…it was amazing.

I’ll share more soon––I still have a lot to process––but here was the most surprising thing:

It began with Vlad having some questions for me.

It seems there were actually a few things he was curious about, things he needed to discover about his dad.

It turns out I’m not the only one struggling to communicate, or the only one with questions.

I wholeheartedly love this quote from the terrific documentary Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel.

Discussing the period after she was summarily fired from her job as the editor of Vogue, right before her triumphant return reinventing the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute, she quipped:

“I was only 70 –– what was I supposed to do … retire?”

The hallmark of her spectacular career was an insatiable curiosity and unfailing eye for what would be the Next Big Thing.

With a lifelong quest like that, only a madman would think you’d ever hang up your hat and close up shop.

Discovery is different from invention or creativity.

Marie Curie discovered radium, for example, but the element was already in existence from the dawn of time.

Certainly Beethoven didn’t “discover” the Moonlight Sonata––although I suppose you could make a poetic argument for how, like Michelangelo chipping at the marble, he discovered the music that was always there.

That’s why most of our greatest personal discoveries will be about revealing what’s always been present but simply eluding our eyes.

(Or the aftereffect of removing our self-imposed blindfolds).

In that spirit, it seems fitting to conclude with those great lines from Little Gidding, the last of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets:

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”

Again, enjoy this Month’s Meditation HERE.

Soon, I will reveal more of what Vlad and the Animal Communicator discussed.

And in the meantime….I wish you many more questions…

…And that you seek out endless opportunities to always discover something new.

Namaste for Now,