The Author Wants You to Know...
Name: Laura Roxanne
Laura is a Conscious Coach, Spiral Practitioner, Reiki Master and Sound Healer living in beautiful Ubud, Bali.
Instagram: @wakewithwonder
Connect with Laura and receive 10% off her transformative services. Read on for her website and the discount code.
"When we embrace wonder, we notice that there is so much magic around us and therefore within ourselves..."
My first experience of the power of wonder was when I was 14 in the counsellor’s office at High School going through a difficult stage as most teenagers do. The counsellor took me to the window with tears in my eyes, pointed up and said, “when you’re feeling this way look up at the sky, at the clouds and just remember that there is so much more out there than what is inside of you…how do you feel when you look up at the blue sky” and I replied “I feel at peace, I feel better”.
As we stood there together in silence looking out of that window for a while, she put her hand on my shoulder to comfort me and said “whenever you feel sad remember that you can always look up at the sky”. I thanked her, dried my eyes and out I walked, knowing I’ll be forever grateful for her and the beautiful gift she gave me. That simple act changed my life and saved me.
Many years later, when I was going through a depressive stage in my life, it wasn’t happiness that got me out of bed in the mornings, it was the beautiful gift of wonder. Getting my ass out of bed and taking the time to notice the world around me before the majority of sleeping souls woke up in the morning saved my life. It was running through the frost-covered grass in the morning and feeling the cold and wet of winter on my legs, reminding me that despite everything that was getting me down in that moment in time that I was still alive and lucky to be here because not everyone gets that chance to wake up another day and experience that very moment.
Once I made wonder a priority in my life, stripped everything back and simplified the way I was living my life, I was so much happier, with less worry and more connection to myself and the world around me. My heart and soul were the most full they’ve ever been.
So now I chase wonder.
When people ask me if I’m happy, I hesitate to answer. Because it’s not happiness that brings fulfilment into my life and helps me stay connected to the people and the world around me, it’s the sense of wonder that has truly brought peace and flow into my life. We put happiness on a pedestal and pursue it like it’s the end game, but the reality is that it can be taken from us in an instant beyond our control. A thrill that is inconsistent and doesn’t last forever.
Well, our sense of wonder does last forever and guess what, no one can take that away from you. It embraces both the light and the dark. It allows us to not only feel both but to accept ourselves as we are, perfectly imperfect humans on a journey of discovery in and outside of ourselves.
On the days when it’s harder to get out of bed in the morning, it’s the wonder of a sunrise that brings chills down our spine that’s wonderfully unexplainable.
The cool breeze or rain falling on our face that reminds us “I’m still here”, “I’m alive”, “I’m lucky enough to feel my senses” and while I might not be the definition of pure happiness in this moment, I truly appreciate being here and what I’m witnessing around me, and there is something to be said for that.
Wonder has been the inspiration behind me becoming a coach and starting ‘Wake with Wonder’ to show my clients that there is a better way of living which is not only attainable but is easy to maintain no matter your story. It doesn’t matter how big or small the goal is that you want to achieve, if you lose yourself on the journey then you will feel incredibly unfulfilled and dissatisfied.
When we embrace wonder, we notice that there is so much magic around us and therefore within ourselves, and when we notice the magic within ourselves then everything around us becomes so much more expansive and we begin to believe that we are deserving of love, joy, happiness and ultimately peace, which is the greatest goal and gift of all.
For the amount of anxiety and depression in the world, that for the most part is due to a lack of what we are told will make us ‘happy’, IS happiness something we should really be chasing? But is wonder what we should have been chasing all along?
If you haven’t done this today, I encourage you to look up at the sky, notice the clouds, the birds, the trees, take some deep breaths and remind yourself that you’re alive, you are held and let the wonder of the world hug and embrace you like it did to me all those years ago.
Laura xx
To make a life-changing booking with Laura, visit her website using the link below and quote ‘Celebration of Self’ to receive 10% off her transformative services.
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