Lavender fields forever
Published 9 August 2025
While on vacation in France recently, I saw a lavender field for the first time.
Or rather, I saw a lavender field AS IF for the first time. Without pre-conception, with openness and curiosity. And what a difference it made!
This is the essence of what we call “beginner’s mind” – the capacity to put away our usual tendency to move through life on autopilot. It is the capacity to pause, breathe and direct our awareness to what is around us without the usual filters of previous experience.
Children excel at this. Watch a child explore a garden and you’ll see what I mean.
Our minds love efficiency, because it saves energy. This is why our default state is to quickly label and file our experiences into neatly organized (metaphorical) storage boxes. And this is helpful in many ways! Otherwise, there would simply be too much information to take in at a given moment.
But…if we ONLY operate in our default state, we miss the occasion to experience more deeply both ordinary and extraordinary experiences, likely a rolling field of lavender in full bloom whilst on summer vacation with your loved ones in France (just sayin’).
Beginner's mind isn't about forgetting what you know - it's about staying open to what you might discover. It's the difference between going through the motions and being fully alive to this moment.
Today, try approaching one ordinary moment as if you're experiencing it for the first time. Notice what shifts when you trade knowing for wondering.
Sending warm, generous wafts of fresh lavender in your direction...
Best,
Valerie
Published 9 August 2025
While on vacation in France recently, I saw a lavender field for the first time.
Or rather, I saw a lavender field AS IF for the first time. Without pre-conception, with openness and curiosity. And what a difference it made!
This is the essence of what we call “beginner’s mind” – the capacity to put away our usual tendency to move through life on autopilot. It is the capacity to pause, breathe and direct our awareness to what is around us without the usual filters of previous experience.
Children excel at this. Watch a child explore a garden and you’ll see what I mean.
Our minds love efficiency, because it saves energy. This is why our default state is to quickly label and file our experiences into neatly organized (metaphorical) storage boxes. And this is helpful in many ways! Otherwise, there would simply be too much information to take in at a given moment.
But…if we ONLY operate in our default state, we miss the occasion to experience more deeply both ordinary and extraordinary experiences, likely a rolling field of lavender in full bloom whilst on summer vacation with your loved ones in France (just sayin’).
Beginner's mind isn't about forgetting what you know - it's about staying open to what you might discover. It's the difference between going through the motions and being fully alive to this moment.
Today, try approaching one ordinary moment as if you're experiencing it for the first time. Notice what shifts when you trade knowing for wondering.
Sending warm, generous wafts of fresh lavender in your direction...
Best,
Valerie
