In this brief spoken reflection recorded at an Authentic Transformation weekend hosted by the Educare Unlearning Institute in St. Louis, the speaker delivers a daily "moment of yes" encouraging participants to stop "shrinking" and instead open to presence. He revisits the theme that "nature is awesome" and recommends two books—J. Allen Boone’s Kinship with All Life and Ishmael—as transformative reads that reshape how we view animals and all living beings. The core challenge presented is to spend time observing an animal (even a seemingly "dumb" insect), remain still and quiet, and ask what the creature can teach us. By doing so, the speaker invites listeners to feel a sense of oneness with the universe, God, and intelligence, fostering a deeper, mindful connection with the natural world.
Chapters
Good morning, everyone. Here is your moment of yes for today. Your moment of yes for today is don't shrink. No, that's not it. I'm just, I'm having to squat today. I am back in St. Louis, or Elsa to be exact, for another authentic transformation weekend with the Educare Unlearning Institute. So this is our 3rd session. Excited to be here. And so your moment of yes for today is, I know a few days ago, I shared the idea, awesome is nature. Awesome is nature? How about nature is awesome? One take with these things. Nature is awesome. And yesterday on the plane ride up, I read the J. Allen Boone book again, Kinship with All Life. If you haven't read that book yet, amazing. It will completely change how you view animals, insects, all living life. And again, I just read Ishmael and now Kinship with All Life again, and it's fantastic. So— Awesome. My moment of yes for today is I am challenging you to— since we were appreciating nature the other day— today, see if you can appreciate animals. Your own animal, an animal in nature. It's summer. We should still be able to get outside. Maybe it's an insect. And instead of thinking, what is this dumb animal or dumb insect teaching me? Be present with that animal or just observe it or just be with it as long as possible and ask yourself, What can I learn from you? Take that mental mindset into the space. What can I learn from you? Be quiet, be still, listen, and see what shows up. Nature is awesome, and awesome is nature. So take that to an animal today, or an idea, and just see, feel the oneness, feel the universality of, of God, of the universe, of intelligence, and see what you can learn today. That's your moment of yes. Have a wonderful day, everyone. Thank you.
