 Stop for a moment and look around. What do you see? Are you surrounded by natural beauty and sunlight? Or are you stuck inside, staring at a dimly lit desk, closed off like a caged animal? What really is our purpose in this life, and what is our story? Do you ever aspire for something greater, and feel deeply in a higher purpose than simply working and paying bills? Are you constantly finding yourself bored, waiting for this collective hibernation to finally see the light of spring? How do we become so lost and disconnected to the world and universe around us? Perhaps it's time to rediscover it, and find our way back. The Gnostics called our conscious slumber to reality the Great Veil, and spoke of how history and conditioning has closed off our mindsets, and severed off our ancient connection back to Earth in the stars. But what really have we lost? By rediscovering our lost relationship with this planet, it provides the very means to help break through this veil of our conscious chains. Whether that means conquering a snowy peak, and pushing yourself to the very limit of what you thought was possible, or finding complete bliss in the tranquility of a lush forest or somber waterfall, we each travel our own unique path to expand consciousness. No matter which route you decide to take, they will all eventually back to the same source. You first must reconnect with your true self and develop an awareness and appreciation of the world around you to find the breadcrumbs that help lead out of the darkness. The journey of expanding consciousness is like being lost in a dark forest in which you cannot see the exit. Countless easy pathways constantly bombard us, only to lead us astray. Only the most determined and pure of heart will find their way and discover that the difficult road provides all the answers. For this existence is merely a teaching construct to allow for the eventual graduation of the enlightened soul to rise like a phoenix out of the ashes of its former self. Wake up to see this beautiful and spectacular world all around us, from its lush green forests and meadows to its towering mountain peaks and tranquil blue waters. We must spend time outside again, simply laying in the grass under a starry night sky and allow the sheer humbleness of the moment sink in. That is the real you, waiting patiently for a time when its higher voice can be heard and made conscious. Humanity has been made to believe that our individual contributions and consequences aren't real and that every action is random and meaningless. This delusion to our existence is simply based on nothing and does not represent the cosmic reality all around us, where our timeline is being shaped by our collective stories which echo through history. Yet this false perception has poisoned our mind and closed us off from any experience that doesn't bring instant pleasure or fit into the model of what is normal. What kind of life would each person decide to live if they only knew the truth of who they really were? Would we all really settle for these mundane and shallow activities that fill up this life? Or would we aspire for something greater? As the clock for our own mortality ticks away, we must ask ourselves if this is the life we really wanted to live. Consciousness is the greatest gift we could ever imagine. How will you use that gift? What will your story be in the end?