The Golden Glimmer: Trusting What Lives Within
These past two months have been full of inspirations. I have had the honor of holding space with my dear soul sisters, witnessing the beauty of the full moonset, opening and expanding our hearts with cacao and sound, moving in yoga flow by the rivers of Costa Rica, inviting our collective communities to meditate on peace, exploring the healing properties of earth medicines, and learning to listen more deeply to the soul.
Through all of these experiences, I am tuning into a deep inner wisdom and source of inspiration. The day-to-day world always has a channel in my thinking mind, with problems to be solved, strategies to tighten up, plans to be executed, and decisions to discern. This is the practicality of life and work. My commitment there does not waver. And increasingly, I am drawn to a deeper inner wisdom—to turn down the noise, be still, find space, and tune into a frequency which not only brings greater peace, but a surer sense of clarity in my day-to-day life and in my personal growth.
We are living in a time that feels intense. The world moves quickly. There is so much information, so many perspectives, so much suffering and uncertainty. It can feel overwhelming to know where to place our attention, our energy, or our care. The invitation I continue to receive is not to push harder into the noise, but to gently turn inward. To listen more deeply. To trust that beneath the noise there is wisdom available to each of us.
I have been working with the theme of Grace and the qualities of its presence. While mostly used as a Christian term, and one I am familiar with through my Catholic upbringing, I find the concept of Grace to encompass much of what I am making meaning of in the Buddhist Dharma. When I think of Grace, I think of something bigger than me—spacious and patient. Grace, to me, is feminine in nature, nurturing and kind. And while there is an easeful gentleness to Grace, it is also unshakeable and composed. Unlike previous explanations of Grace, what is most meaningful to me is that Grace is not an external attribute bestowed upon us from an external presence or higher power, but an innate beauty within each of us, attainable when we tune into its presence.
One of my favorite stories, which I often retell, is the story of the Golden Buddha. I first heard this story told by Tara Brach through her teachings on radical acceptance, and it has lived in my awareness since.
Many centuries ago, in Thailand, there was a beloved Golden Buddha statue, radiant and revered. When the country was under threat of invasion, the monks, fearing the statue would be stolen or destroyed, covered it entirely in clay and mud to conceal its true value. Over time, the knowledge of what lived beneath the surface was forgotten. Generations passed, and the statue remained, appearing ordinary and unremarkable.
One day, a monk noticed a small crack in the clay. As he looked more closely, he saw something shimmering beneath. With care and devotion, the clay was slowly chipped away, revealing the solid gold form that had been there all along. The gold had never left. It had never diminished. It had simply been covered.
This story reminds me that each of us carries a golden presence within. Over time, we develop protective layers—formed by experience, by hurt, by conditioning, by survival. These layers serve a purpose. They protect us. They help us navigate the world. And yet, they are not the essence of who we are.
Layers serve a purpose. They protect us. They help us navigate the world. And yet, they are not the essence of who we are.
The golden glimmer remains.
We each carry gifts that are uniquely ours to offer. Not gifts that must be forced or manufactured, but gifts that naturally emerge when we create space to listen. When we soften. When we trust. When we allow ourselves to believe that what lives within us is meaningful and needed.
In our community sangha last month, I shared the quote by Howard Thurman: “Don’t ask what the world needs of you. Ask what makes you come alive and go do that. Because what the world needs now is people who have come alive.”
To ask what the world needs right now can feel overwhelming. There is so much noise and chaos, so many rights and wrongs, so many calls for our attention. But to ask what brings us alive is a different inquiry. It invites us to turn inward. To listen for the golden glimmer. To peel back the layers and allow our most authentic selves and inspired gifts to emerge.
This emergence is not accidental. It is an act of trust. It is an act of courage. It is an act of Grace.
Grace is a gift of wisdom inside each of us. It is patient and kind. It is strong and certain. To open to Grace is to invite that wisdom to come forward and be alive in this world. To trust that who you are—beneath the noise, beneath the doubt, beneath the protective layers—is enough.
And perhaps now, more than ever, the world needs each of us to remember our gold. To trust it. To live it. To offer it, boldly and wholeheartedly, as only we can.
~Anne
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”