First week of Spring, everything seems to wake up. I thought it would be a good idea to start our exploration of the Grove with our five senses. Beginning this week with sight.

We often look at things, look at people, look at landscapes… Without seeing them. So this week, we will truly try to see what comes to us. To see their shape, their colors, their textures. So see what brings them their singularity.

I have small rocks at home, all kind of rocks, river rocks, crystal rocks, and some of them are part of a very special collection Emma started. Those are heart shaped rocks. I still remember this light on a face when she found one that could be part of her collection… To her, it meant she was loved by Nature. And it brought her comfort in her difficult times. I have to come clean: some of them ‘somewhat’ were in a heart shape, but it didn’t really matter, the most important, was that she saw them as such. After she passed, I went on with it. When I go for a walk, I always look for those heart shaped rocks, because, to me too, it means that I am loved… And usually, I go for a walk when I am in need of connection. And it’s most of the time when I don’t think about it anymore, when I am balanced again, when I feel good again, that my eyes lies on a heart shaped stone… somewhat heart shaped pebble. And I bring it back home, add it to my collection.

Other rocks I have are those I love to try to balance. I can spend a lot of time trying to put one rock on top of another, to feel the weight or lack of on the tips of my fingers… but I’ll talk about them another time.

The last kind of rocks I have are crystals. Most of them in palm stone form. I know nothing in lithotherapy, and I’m not into it, I know nothing ether on crystals, really, but I find them beautiful. I love spending time touching them, and even more time looking closely at them. Their structure is fascinating to me. Their layers, sometimes of different shades, even different colors, are almost hypnotizing. The cracks we can see but that are just part of them, not weaknesses… They are soothing, because I let my thoughts wander, and my eyes bring each detail to my mind. It’s a meditative practice, and it’s pretty efficient to calm me down, to put my focus on those rocks, to center my attention.

When I meet new people, I try to go beyond the obvious: shape, clothes, whatever they can tell. I try to focus on their non verbal language, on the way they interact with others, on their expression. And I quickly know who I am dealing with. Because I learned to decipher these little details, seeing through whatever artificial tool they use. We all have ours, and it’s a way to belong I think. But if we pay close attention, we can see the ‘real’ person. His or her emotions, his or her personality. And we then can build a bond with them.

You don’t even have to go for a walk or to be in a crowd to practice it. In my parents’ garden, there is this tree. It’s almost 40 years old now, and never grew as it was supposed to. part of it is dead, but it’s still there, standing, blooming each year. This tree is a world by itself. It has so many textures, so many lichen, mushrooms growing on it. At the end of April, its flowers fall, and it’s magical. And when Fall comes, it gives us the most beautiful leaves colors you can ask. Everything from dark green to bright red. I really love this tree, and I enjoy each of my visits to it. I taught my nephew to look at it closely, and when he visits my parents, he often ask to go and see the tree, and look at it closely, to discover its mysteries.

So this week, try to look at things and people closely, try to see through whatever blur your vision of them. And enjoy the journey!

The card

I wanted to illustrate this idea with something simple, tiny, something we all could find in our everyday life. A dew drop on a leaf. I didn’t want to draw my drop as I usually do. I wanted to expand the vision, so I decided to color it with colors you can’t see on the leaf, but that may come from what is behind us. Because when you train yourself to focus on looking closely at things, you also expand your vision, in a way. this leaf, this dew drop is what will allow you to be able to perceive what is around them. Their simplicity will expand your acknowledgement of a far bigger world. And this ability is part of your magic!

My journey

Our journal

This week prompts are asking you to take an object and to look at it closely. Perfect time to go for a walk and bring a pebble, a twig, a leaf, a feather, whatever you feel drawn to!

Our cards/stickers

I wish you a good week, and I hope you will find a great pleasure looking closely, in a bright new way, at what is around you. Because you deserve it.