Love and Consciousness

This Valentine's Day weekend Zen's Purple Garden had a booth at the Conscious Life Expo in Los Angeles where thousands converged to learn, share, support and celebrate living more holistically, conscious and alternatively. Our natural sleep aids assist people in being able to have a deeper, more restorative sleep without sleeping medication, and we donate to nature and national parks, so we were excited to meet like minded people.
We found all kinds of different kinds of people.
The differences challenged my comfort zone.My little voice in my head had all sorts of skeptical things to say about the "Galactic Society" and UFO conference.
It piped up again when, looking at crystals at a Divine Love booth, two starry eyed people met each other for the first time and hugged each other for what seemed like two minutes.
"Umm that's kinda weird" my inner commentary whispered.
When a man shared about pyramids with a passion that could be heard across the room, and encouraged people to sit under a hanging metal pyramid with a crystal to align their energy..."Doubtful" my inner voice snickered.

When a woman gazed at the Zen's Purple Garden booth and then introduced herself and spontaneously hugged me, my other inner voice finally said, "It's ok, relax, she's just a loving person. Just hug her and get over yourself."
I hugged her, looked into her eyes and saw clarity, freedom and love.

I told my assistant Christine about the people hugging at the Divine Love booth, confessed my inner chatter, and she asked "What would the world be like if everyone hugged for two minutes when they met for the first time?"
I got, with her 24 years young wisdom, that consciousness is simply being present. What shows up then, is often love for all living things, whether you know them or not, whether you believe in what they believe in or not.
I was then able to be with everyone at the expo, no matter what their interest, or expression of conscious living, and enjoy their passions and them for who they are.

However, when Sunday evening, Valentine's Day at the expo rolled around, my back aches, my feet hurt, I miss my husband, I am tired and completely not interested in sharing the history of my company or products for the ten thousandth time. I pick up my cellphone to pass the time and notice a text from my brother. He asked his girlfriend Amy to marry him!
My heart leaps with joy! I LOVE Amy, she is loving, supportive of my brother and just awesome. Energy lifts me off my seat and joy springs from my face and I announce to the neighboring booths with wild abandon, "My brother just got engaged!" They cheer and I ran up stairs like a kid at recess to get reception on the phone and call him.
Love had completely erased my aches and pains.

This morning I am comfortable and cozy, playing in bed with my family, I become present to the fact that everything "out there", all those different lifestyles and ways of being, that we are not, has us be exactly who we are. And I am grateful for all those different ways.
A phone call of congratulations and enjoying my brother Tao's and Amy's love has me snuggle a little closer with my husband, tickle my sons a little sillier and rub noses with my baby a little longer...
fully appreciating the miracle of their soft skin, beating hearts and sparkling laughter...and that, to me, is what being conscious, and living life is all about.

Zen Honeycutt
www.zenspurplegarden.com