In the last few weeks I’ve come across a surprising amount of fascinating information:

—a story about how bison on ancestral lands made discoveries that fulfilled an ancient prophecy;

—research documenting how dying people in hospice care often experience dreams and visions of dead loved ones which are vivid and comforting;

—the discovery that most mammals are bioluminescent;

—that more than a hundred odd round towers built between the 9th and 12th centuries primarily in Ireland may be connected to constellations and used for amplifying spiritual energy;

—nightime photos across the world show rare red aurora caused by recent heightened levels of solar activity;

—research suggesting that water holds memory, observes its surroundings and can communicate with us through sophisticated imagery.

able to gape, but not able to get a good photo

During this same period I’ve learned that at least three separate groups across the globe have gathered together in person or online to send love and peace to the planet; that a retired minister is creating art celebrating the naked bodies of women neither slim nor young; that a renowned chef has written a book advocating “unreasonable hospitality:” listening deeply to others and tending to their desires beyond what seems “reasonable.”  And I read a memoir full of astonishing synchronistic experiences by someone who explains how working with the dead can help us become more alive.

Today I watched a gorgeous pileated woodpecker explore my yard—a rare sighting, especially remarkable because it stuck around long enough for me to gape at it for long minutes.

So just when the news is almost unbearably difficult to absorb—increasingly so—the Universe, without my researching or making any effort at all, has thrown an unusual number of things my way that captivate and delight me. 

a little creepy, but still full of life

More important I think, is that while the actors on the world stage continually repeat old useless patterns of dominance and separation, these other stories shatter old paradigms, by expanding our connection with people, creatures and the unseen world. Enlarging and thickening our visions about what is desirable and possible.

They suggest that the vitality around us is more powerful than even someone like me (who has been considered “flaky” for much of her life) understands.

Even as everything in our world seems broken, my intuitive art continues to show me a Universe in motion, alive and intact.

I am not trying to convince anyone of anything; I am simply reporting what I have noticed. Because I think noticing widely is important—always, but especially now. 

What are your most “impossible” visions for a more loving future?