It’s spring time!

A letter to you, reading it.

by Sky Banyes

I love summer. I love summer so much, that my favourite season is spring. How much I have to look forward to! The imminence of blooming and the bright days ahead. Ah! As a child, did you also count ice-creams?

It’s spring time! Did you check out the sky from your window today? See the sun rays spread across the vast space? You and I, we are apart, yet it’s the same light filling our home, warming our face, bouncing off the mirror. See? We’re so close in essence. 

Did you open the window? Let the gentle breeze dance through the room… Notice! Have you ever heard such bird songs? If I close my eyes I could be… anywhere! Oh, I miss so much. Sure, we all do. But, I’m discovering that the real experience comes from within. As we can’t go outside, what an opportunity to go inside! Close your eyes… Where is your favourite place on earth? Close your eyes… and you could be there. Our experience of the world really is formed in our minds. So, design your own – there’s no limits. No one is watching you in there. You are both director and spectator. Perhaps, the second time you read this through, you’ll realise that where you are, with what you’ve got, is plenty enough already.

What are you missing? Or, expressed better in Greek and French, “What is missing from you”? They say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. I lost my mother when I was 22. Every day I am still hurting, discovering how much is lost, losing her. But, I have had to climb my mountain, because surely the mountain was never gonna come to me – let’s be, finally, honest. Yes, it’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And, also, the best. Reaching the peaks (which are recurring, highlighted by the lows, in the natural flow of life) has made me such a grateful and happy person in the moment. In any moment. No matter where the dot “I” is, on that wavy journey, I can feel plenty enough if I am consciously present. Present with all life. Because life is expansive. And my experience – my show! – is shaped by that which I choose to give my attention to. It takes active being, not passive.

Every day I look up at the sky and count my blessings. Ok, that’s a lie. I, too, get dragged downstream trivial every day life. But I’ve learnt enough (still learning!) to know better. To often stop, and breathe. Chill at the side and enjoy a paddle. To look down, and smell the roses. To look up, and smile at the world. For, here I am. Here you are! And I am so grateful for the sky we share. I am so grateful for the life we share. Because it’s all connected, see? Us, life, the world. And the experience… it’s all relative, remember? You are the director. Close your eyes… choose your favourite colour and paint your walls. Or even better, break them down.

We’ve always been the director, but the last time we lived up to it was when we were six, orchestrating a battalion of wooden blocks into plays, no adult has ever won an Oscar for! But, when I stop and breathe for a moment, I can regain charge. This way – no matter the waves – I am, in this moment, standing on a peak. And, what a view! And the moments to follow? All mine to direct…

I’m learning to get to know what I’ve got, before I lose it. To see it all – really see it – and to cherish it – actively cherish it. Cause, we will all lose it all one day. Perhaps. Life is an endless flow. Nothing necessarily ends, but everything changes. Everything changes; the thrilling truth behind what makes life wonder-full. It is ok to take a moment to reflect on this yourself. Everything may be lost one day – or not -, but right now, in the moment that is, you’ve got it all. Because you are it all. Director and spectator.

With adversity comes revelation. These days have again confirmed this. Re-enforced me to stop and breathe. Brought me back to myself. Brought me back to life. And – yes! – brought me to you. And so, after all, we are not everything alone. We are everything, together. Look out the window. Do you see what I see?

The walls in our head are ours to break down. Look up! Without walls there is only blue sky. The same blue sky we all share. The same sky I am looking at right now, smiling. Grab your favourite colours, and go for it! I can’t wait to see what it looks like when I next look up!