Dare to Be Amazed: Guest post by Cloris Kylie Stock

“Let whatever mysterious starlight that guided you this far guide you onward into whatever crazy beauty awaits.”–Cheryl Strayed

Seeing my name on the bestsellers lists is cool and all, but the best part about E-Squared’s success is all the people I’ve met.

Turns out, this social media thing is really a hoot!

Last week, I did an interview with Cloris Kylie Stock (I think it was last week, I’ve been doing quite a few) and soon afterwards, she sent me this guest post which I am thrilled to offer here.

Cloris, who is originally from Venezuela (how cool is that!!), is a fabulous speaker and radio host.

Take it away, Cloris:

Dare to Be Amazed

by Cloris Kylie Stock

I live ten minutes away from a steep but short hiking trail that leads to a 360-degree view of the state of Connecticut. I’ve been there dozens of times, but my most recent visit will always be etched in my mind. Why? Because I was guided to regain my sense of wonder.

I’ll explain.

A woman and her two children were ahead of me on the trail. What usually is a quiet climb up the mountain listening to chirping birds turned into a raucous discovery trip.

“What a rock!” the girl said. I looked at the huge rock wall on the side of the trail, and remembered how exciting it had been to see its jagged features for the first time.

The girl’s brother pointed at the first glimpse of a view. “Look, look! The view!”

The girl’s jaw dropped. “Omigod! Amazing!” I casted a glance in the girl’s direction and realized that she was right. We weren’t even near the top, yet this view I was used to seeing often was already amazing. I found myself playing closer attention to the houses and farmland in the distance. Breathtaking.

Soon after the girl yelled, “Look, on the ground!” Her brother and mom stopped to see what she had spotted, and I joined them.

“It’s a salamander!” the boy said. “Let’s catch it!” As they devised a plan to capture the tiny orange creature, I took a closer look at it. It was beautiful and perfect. It was a divine creation like the kids, their mother, and me.

That’s when I realized how easy it is to take the beauty around us for granted, and to lose the sense of wonder we had when we were young children. We not only forget to appreciate the familiar scenery around us, but the people closer to us. Many times we forget how blessed we are to have someone to greet us when we get home at the end of the day, or someone to listen to our day-to-day stories. We also tend to overlook the time and work it took to design, produce, transport, and sell our stuff, and how many hours farmers spent on the fields so we could chomp on a juicy organic plum.

When we regain our sense of wonder, we align with the miracle of creation, and by doing so, we align with the presence of new miracles in our lives. When we have a sense of wonder we are aware, and awareness is a sure way to spot the piece of information or the person we needed to notice to manifest our desires.

As the Persian poet Rumi said, “Sell your cleverness and purchase bewilderment.” Allow yourself to be amazed, and amazing things will come into your life.

Cloris Kylie Stock, MBA, is a career, academic, and life coach from Simsbury, Connecticut. She is a sought-after lecturer who has achieved the highest Toastmasters awards in communication and leadership. Her calling is to help people realize their maximum potential.

Blog: http://selfactualizedlife.blogspot.com

Online radio show: http://blogtalkradio.com/magnificent