AMB Cote d'Azur

If you were here on the 14th July, you would be hard put to avoid the fireworks celebrations that mark France’s Bastille Day.  In each community, the fireworks are often followed by dancing with neighbours of all ages into the early hours of the morning.  In Cannes this year, the 14th July was the first of six evenings of the “Festival d’Art Pyrotechnique”, a competition between different nations - this year Switzerland, France, Czechoslovakia, Portugal, Canada and Russia.

Fireworks spell summer holidays for me. The explosions of colours and sounds high overhead, co-ordinated with music, make up the extraordinary fireworks displays I find elevating and inspiring.  I was told that light from fireworks stimulate the body’s pineal gland and its own self-healing mechanisms. A summer vacation offers us the time to be removed from the familiar routines, entertained and distracted from our usual preoccupations, to let go and soar.

I love the freedom to relax in the warmth, wear light clothing, stroll on the beach, swim in a warm clear sea and simply reflect on the goodness, the blessings, in my life; to appreciate and spend time with my friends.  So what is it about summer magic?  Are magical moments confined to the summer?  How can we enjoy more of the specialness that we each are, throughout the year?

In June this year, I experienced a miracle.  Looking for a new place to live, I was given, out of the blue, an apartment right on the beach in Cannes with the most spectacular views over the sea, both south and east.  Until I moved in, I had not remembered how very much I loved living by a beach, close to the sea with its limitless horizon.

During the weeks of my home search, I several times clarified my intention about what I really wanted in my new accommodation, especially how I wanted to be experiencing living in my new home.  There were three steps that I pursued:

1.    INTENTION
Get my vision and intention clear, and keep my focus single minded.

2.    INTUITION
Listen to my intuition about which next step to take, and when.

3,    CO-OPERATION
Co-operate with my inner guidance, and act accordingly.

In the process, I was blessed by friends who assisted by keeping me on track, reminding me when I needed to take a break from actively searching. I also worked the spiritual principles I know for successfully achieving a stated result with ease and Grace.  The outcome was far better than I had ever imagined.

The fundamental attitudes that I cultivated within myself throughout the weeks of looking were:

1. FAITH
   I developed the faith that the perfect place did exist for me and that sooner or later, I knew it would show up.
2. BLESSINGS
   Every step, including the seemingly non-productive ones, I saw and    claimed gratefully as a blessing.
3. SELF-NURTURING
   When I had my moments of doubt and discouragement, I looked at all I have and felt full of gratitude; I repeated self-forgiving statements to re-connect me with my own strengths, well-being and wisdom. 
4. HERE AND NOW
   I practised living here and now, in the moment, as much as I could by taking a deep breath when I felt stressed.  I never knew what good might be right around the next corner.

Shortly after I moved in to my new home, I told a wise friend about my miracle.  He said quite simply and quietly: “Miracles are happening all the time”.  Yes, of course.  I know that is true.  For those who have the eyes to see and the ears to hear, we do live in a miraculous world.

It is when we are open and most relaxed that we can create and attract the best to ourselves.  On the beach below my terrace, I observe a lot of happiness and joy. Older people, grandparents, grandchildren, teenagers, young families - the world is here enjoying the sun, and the gentle sea which relentlessly laps on the shore.  Coloured parasols decorate the sands. Sea birds screech at each other; dive and glide around in the air. These are pure moments for envisaging positive outcomes in the months ahead. I feel very blessed and grateful.

© Anne Naylor 2008