Eclipse Wisdom: Lessons in Empowering Moms to Embrace Perspective & Align with Life's Greatness ~ Episode 32 ~ April 11, 2024

Welcome back mamas, or welcome to any new mamas we may have listening to us today. Today, I so much of this week has been about the eclipse. Right? The eclipse happened on Monday and I don't know about you, but where I am we are very close in proximity to where the totality, like my house was actually in the 99% you know of of where you would be able to see the total eclipse. And so we didn't actually travel. We just decided to stay home and watch the eclipse from here. But there's just been so much talk about the eclipse, and I was thinking about it today, and I wanted to just think I wanted to share with you, my thoughts on. I don't know all these different lessons and things that I was like learning from the eclipse because I first well, I'm gonna start with a quote, right? I always start with a quote. So I'm gonna start with a quote. This one was from Edward Everett Hail. and he says, I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something, and I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.

• So the reason how that relates to the eclipse you guys, is because I was thinking about the sheer size of the sun and then the size of the moon. And I was like, how is it even possible that it gets because where I was it got like dark now? It didn't get completely dark again. I was only in 99% so it but it got it got pretty dark to the point where, like the neighbor's lights are on a trigger that they come on when it gets dusk.
• The lights pop on, and like their lights, popped on. It was. It was dark, right? And so, if you think about it, the moon and I looked it up. So the moon is like is like 2,000 miles around like it's about 2,000 miles in diameter.
• and the sun is like 800 and something 1,000 like 864,000 miles in diameter, and the moon is 2,160 miles in diameter. Now think about that. So the moon is, for the sun is 400 times as big as the moon is, but the moon gets into a position where it can block the sun's light from reaching the earth. This 800,000 Mile star in the sky. This little moon can block all of its light from getting to earth. Right for this, you know for a few minutes right? And I started to think about how things affect us right like. And so you know that first quit that I started with how you're only one. But you are one right, like the moon should not be able to block all that sunlight from us. But it can.
• It can right. It is only one small object, but it is positioned exactly, you know, exactly, properly. And I think what I also learned is that it's also the sun is also 400 times further away from the earth as the moon is, and so that is why it can get in such a position where it can completely block the sun's light from getting to us is because of the positioning and because of how the perspective right? And so I talked about perspective a few weeks ago, and how everything can change the way you look at things can change, depending on how you look at them. Right? The thing doesn't actually change. But the way that you look at it changes right. And this is so true with just this relationship that happens between the moon and the sun. And you know it makes me think about our lives right? And how you know, one little thing that we do in our life can have a big impact on our entire life. Or one little thing that we do for our children or you know, just sometimes we tend to think that these small things that we do can't have a big impact, but it can, right? And especially if it's positioned in the right way, or if we use it in the right way if we're looking at it with the right perspective, right? Things that are small can make a big difference. And so that was like the first lesson that I was like. Oh, my gosh, this is crazy! It's crazy to think that this small little thing can have such a big impact and can like the temperature the temperature here that it dropped like it was. You know, I we were outside. It was like in the seventies. And then all of a sudden, like my mom and I were like chilly.
• We were like. Oh, my gosh! It's kind of cold! And the kids. Of course they weren't chilly. My dad was like, Oh, not cold, but it was like a chill was in the air like you and they could. They all said that they definitely could feel the temperature change. It's just they didn't get chilly. It's just me and my mom, you know, we get chilly all the time, and so and so we were kind of chilly. But everyone could feel the temperature change and the impact that that sun has, but also that led me to think about how something so small could block something so great and something so impactful, and something that is just so beautiful and gorgeous, and has such a huge impact on this world. How something so small could also have the ability to block that big thing like, even though it's shining right. This little small thing can block it. And can you know? It was completely pitch black in the path of totality, right like, if you were at that right perspective. You got a complete blackout right like it was like it was night and the temperature I'm sure there was like a huge difference between when it was blocked and when it wasn't right. And so it makes me also think about how you know we can be blocked by shining our light or being our true selves, or you know, we can be blocked by small little things that we are focusing, or we are letting blocking us from. We're letting block us from shining our light right?
• And how just that slight little shift of the small thing can make a huge difference of you being able to shine your light right? And so it's all about perspective. You guys, I hope this is landing cause I was like having all these revelations this morning. And I was like, Oh, my gosh, I gotta do a whole podcast episode on the way, that this was like hitting me because I'm going to also read another thing. Cause this is like, I was thinking about how this is all about the moon, right? It wasn't necessarily about the eclipse, but how the moon looks different, depending on where it is in the sky, and how the moon size never actually changes, but the way that it looks in the sky. It looks like it's bigger, depending on where it is. And so it's all about perspective again, right? Like it's all about perspective and
• like I was. I was looking it up because I was like, is the moon ever bigger, like in some respects, than it is in others like it, is it? Is it ever bigger at some times than it is at others? And what I found was, it says, no, it's not ever bigger. It just appears to be bigger. It appears to be bigger when it is closer to the horizon, or when it is closer to the earth.
• It appears to be bigger. And I was like thinking about. That's how our problems are right like. So they appear to be bigger, depending on how we're looking at them and depending on how close we are to them. So the moon is actually no bigger when it's all the way up in the sky than it is when it's by the horizon. But it's our brain that is actually making the moon bigger. appears bigger, like we would swear that it's bigger, because maybe it's closer to us. We could think right like. But no, it's not. It's actually not closer to us. It is actually not bigger. It is our brain making it look bigger when it's on the horizon, or when you can, you know. Say, you can see trees, or you can see mountains, or you can see whatever. And you can also see the moon like behind it, and how big it can look at that point, and then when it gets up in the sky, and it looks way smaller. It's never bigger. Now. There are times of night where our times of the year, or whatever where the moon is further away, and of course at that point it would look smaller, but it's never bigger, like on the same night when it's on the horizon, and then, when it's fully up in the air, it's the exact same size, it never is bigger. Right? And so this leads me to another quote by Marcus Aurelius, where it says, everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth. And you got these. I was like, Wait, is that true? And then I started thinking about it. And I'm like, yes, everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact, like
• we can prove anything. I think I've talked about this on another podcast. Episode, how no matter, what you believe, you can find evidence to make that true like. If you want to believe a fear of yours, if you want to believe you know whatever you want to believe, you can go out and find evidence backing up. Why, that is truth.
• and you will find it. You will find what you're looking for, and so everything we hear is an opinion and not a fact like
• everything. Now. you know, I'm not saying like E equals Mc. Squared like does not like, you know. I'm not saying that scientific facts aren't indeed like true, there are scientific facts, but what I'm saying is everything we hear out of people's mouths is an opinion, not a fact. Right again, not talking about scientific like truths here, but
• it is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is perspective, not the truth. So everything changes the way that you look at it, the way you look at things change. What is actually it? What it is that you're actually seeing. So it is a perspective. It is not the truth, just like the moon isn't bigger when it's on the horizon that it is when it's in the middle of the sky. It's just how our brain is perceiving it with relationship, and our brain is only able to process things. It has to have other things to go by. So our brain processes, all the things we're seeing at the same time.
• Right? And so, if you like, I I saw this article that said something like, if you put your index finger up next to your eye, or Alex to like and block the other things and put your index finger up, or if you take your camera and let's just say you know, you put your camera in the same spot and on the same zoom and everything, and you take a picture of the moon, and then, when the moon moves to not being on the horizon, your camera has not moved, or anything takes the same picture. And you look at the 2 pictures. They're exactly the same size. It's just that it in relationship to
• the way that you see it on the horizon. It looks way different, you guys, and I'm sure you've seen those like illusions, those optical illusions like where you have them. And you look at them in books or on the Internet, like, if you're scrolling social media, and you're like, which line is longer or whatever, and how they put all these lines and depends on how your brain sees them. But the lines are actually the exact same length. It's just that your brain perceives one to be longer than the other, based on the things that are around it, right?
• And it's an optical illusion. And that is the same thing with life a lot of times, you know, depending on how close or far away you are to a problem depends on how big that problem seems to you. Right? It's the same problem. But sometimes you get to like, you know, you've heard the term sleep on it right? And so I feel like, that's always a good thing to do with problems or issues if you can. If you have the luxury of being able to sleep on it, because the further away you get from something the smaller. It seems the big problem that seemed like insurmountable. Today you might wake up tomorrow and be like. okay. That's actually not that big of deal. If you heard the podcast last week, like I was when I was talking about you know what happened with my daughter and getting into school and everything. And how we thought this was a huge problem right? And like we were so devastated and then wound up that it was like the best thing that could have happened right, and it was all perspective. It was like, Oh, my gosh! Like this is the way it was supposed to have happened right. And it was. It was a different day, but it looked that same situation looked completely different to us in a different light. Right? And so it is so like, I I was just going. I was like, Oh, my! Gosh! This morning I was just having Aha! Moment after Aha moment and I wanted to. I'm gonna throw one more quote in here, and then what end off? So it's a quick Dali quote. I love the Dahli Lama quotes. If you think you are too small to make a difference. Try sleeping in with a mosquito in the room. If you think you're too small to make a difference. Try sleeping with this mosquito in the room, you know, a mosquito was like minute, right? But like that thing can bite you and bite you, and you are gonna be annoyed. And you have this whole room. But the you know the mosquito is trapped in there with you right? It's already bitten you, and it's still there. And you're like, Oh, my gosh! It's just this tiny little thing. But you will not sleep.
• And if you do like, you're gonna be bit, and you're gonna be eating alive by the morning, right? And this small little thing has turned into this big, you know problem that you have to deal with with days for days, because you have all these bites right? But it's so true you are not too small to make a difference. And your problems, or the way you're looking at things, you know, is not too big for you to handle. And so I don't know this. This whole eclipse, the moon. Everything has everybody, you know, enamored with this. And as I was thinking about it this morning, I was like, Oh, my gosh! So many lessons that we could actually learn from the eclipse.
• and how it's so. It's so magnificent, right like. And everyone was so enamored with how this was able to
• come, you know into alignment, into alignment is another key right like. So you talk about how you want your life to be in alignment, right? And how. And I talk about it, anyway, and I talk about how I hate the word balance right? Cause you can never balance all of the things. What I try to be in is aligned flow right aligned flow. And it was just so.
• you know, yesterday, when the earth and the moon and the sun were all aligned in such a way that the the power
• of the sun was completely blocked by the moon, which is 400 times smaller than it, and we on the earth felt that
• with a temperature change, with a light change like all, it impacted us like my dog was crying like it started to get a little bit dark, and she was just outside with us, and she was just like immediately, like unsettled right? I heard people say that they were like nauseous, and they were super tired, because, you know, our Circadian rhythms, like they all get thrown off when things like this happen right? Because our bodies are used to things being a certain way, and when things aren't that way a lot of times, we don't know what to do with that. And so, you know, our body can actually get sick from it right?
• And this goes not just for the moon, you guys, this goes for when your life is out of alignment, or when you aren't aligned with the way you're behaving, or you know I remember back to when I had littles at home, and I still have littles right like they're 9 and 11, but they're a lot older now. And this was when they were like both at home with me, or maybe one was at preschool, and one was at home. and I had found myself in a place where I was completely out of alignment, like I had always defined myself by my work. I had always, you know, had all of this
• things that were outside of me to pour myself into, and now I was pouring myself into my children right, but, like my whole world. well my world still revolves around them right? But like it was seriously all in them where I didn't have anything for myself right like I was out. I felt out of alignment. I felt like I was missing a part of me right, and I couldn't be the best mom that I could be right because that alignment wasn't happening because I was out of alignment. And it wasn't until I figured all of it out right. And that's what I I you know I try to help people do is to figure all of them out that out for themselves, because I feel like the more people I talk to, the more that resonates with people, and that same exact feeling that they are out of alignment. And it's just getting back and discovering that true North. and figuring out what alignment looks like for you and aligned flow. Looks like for you, and being able to, you know, use that as your true North as what you're striving for. And when you can do that, it's amazing. It's amazing how you know, just like the eclipse was amazing. It's amazing the impact that that can have in your life and how much that can affect your life.
• So I had no idea where this was gonna go today, you guys, I just knew I had some lessons that I was feeling that I wanted to share with you. I hope it landed. I hope you got something from this and till next week. Y'all I'll talk to you soon.