crystal exploration - citrine

It is still a month away from the solstice, but it's sunny and upper 80s. Summer-like energy is saturating the landscape, snuggling into soil and brushing against leaves, blooms, skin. It is an extended threshold between spring and summer. With it also being the week of graduations locally, it is a threshold between here and there in multiple ways.

My daughter was one such graduate, my second child to step from childhood into adulthood in what felt like a blink. I am incredibly proud of them both, of their hearts, minds, passions, the ways they approach the world and have such unique sparks.

It's made me think (again) about success, and what that really means.

An image forms for me:

There is a tangled path - maybe a thorny prairie or a dark forest tunnel, a rocky shoreline or steep mountain edge. It looks complex, but there's still a thread of knowing there, maybe even excitement, and so a step is taken. Then another, then another.

It's not all hard, of course. There is beauty. There are vistas. There are so many moments to collect, to exist within.

At some point - or perhaps many points or even all points - there is a puddle. It is not made of water, though, but of golden light. One touch, and it engulfs. The person and puddle are one. It's like a deep inhalation, a centering, a soul remembering. It's a nudge, a lightening, an embrace of self. It is who we are.

Citrine is like that puddle of light in crystal form. It's a creative empowerment stone. It manifests dreams. It helps protect our sense of self and dissolves negativity so that we can lean into abundance more and more.

For me, success in life is a whole lot about connecting to who we truly are, finding things that make our heart and soul feel a special glow, and carrying on with curiosity, whether days are hard or easy, tragic or happy. The success might have the traditional external accomplishments, or it might not. Whatever it looks like, it's all okay, and it's the journey we're here for. It's how we touch our own unique abundance.