Cosmic Potential

The aliveness waiting for you, for our world

Cosmic Potential

It was late, the sun was setting 
as I finished digging in the earth 
in my new flower bed that 
my husband built for me, and I 
placed the last flower seeds 
in the soil. 

I had spent an hour in the garden 
after work as a therapist of 
holding space for weary humans 
wanting to feel okay, wanting to feel 
hope and feel held by 
something larger than their 
anxieties and compulsions 
and suffering. 

With knees in the dirt 
in my now earth-stained pants, 
I sat back.

I felt the quiet 
evening breeze 
carrying softness 
to my skin - 
to my soul. 

I looked down at my hands 
and the dirt under my nails -
proof of my effort but 
no guarantee that the hours 
and days spent here kneeling 
and digging and planting 
will result in the vision I have 
of a garden lush with color 
and bees and abundant blossoms. 

Earlier in the day, 
clients wondered, 
"Will this ever change? 
Am I good? 
Will I be like this forever? 
I don't know what to do." 

We press a prayer into the soil 
of our earth-bodies 
and we hope. 

We water the seeds with 
daily practices of 
placing our feet on the earth, 
feeling the breath, gently bringing 
one hand to the heart, and saying 
our own name with kindness. 

We wonder and we pray. 
We wander and we come back 
to what our ancestors practiced 
again and again that 
strengthened within them 
roots of resilience 
and faith and fortitude. 

We allow the timeless miracle 
happening underground 
to unfold - 
earth loosening, a seed 
unfurling and growing toward 
what it instinctually knows is 
its destiny. 

But no one posts about 
the season of nothing happening 
and faithfulness of practice 
in the darkness of doubt 
and uncertainty. 

No one shares about 
the "no results yet" of 
daily showing up to whisper 
another prayer of hope 
from your heart. 

We want certainty - 
some sign 
that our work and effort 
is taking root within us. 

Yet so much of transformation 
looks like this: hands in the dirt, 
messy emotions, heart sinking 
and then hoping and sinking and 
then hoping, and no tangible proof 
appearing 

and 

choosing to stay - 

choosing to water, 
choosing to trust that what has 
not yet broken through the darkness 
will find its way through the 
soil and into the light. 

Then, on one seemingly 
monotonous day, 
you sense it - 
something has shifted. 

The earth has been rumbling 
and quietly parting.

There is a small, undeniable 
green shoot of hope - 
it's easier to breathe, 
to be kind to yourself, 
to not get caught up in 
your old thoughts, 
to respond with love 
instead of react out of fear. 

And you know now that 
even in the darkness 
and the wandering, 
your soul knew 
how to bring you 
into the light. 

And though more weather systems 
of emotions and thoughts 
will come, somehow 
you trust 

that this seemingly fragile 
green shoot contains within it 
the same cosmic potential 
of all things - 
a new star birthing, 
a mammoth sunflower rising, 
a whole new galaxy forming. 

And you begin to faithfully trust 
that so it is with your life, too.

Lisa McCrohan (c) 2026

This spring and early summer, I have been spending less time online. In the morning, instead of writing or posting, I’ve been waking up and going barefoot into my gardens. Whether I have five minutes or fifteen, I water the beets and zucchini plants, check on the zinnias and dalias, and notice what has emerged overnight.

Some mornings, I cut roses and hydrangeas and hot pink and purple and orange flowers I forgot the names of. I lay them in a basket and carry them inside to arrange them in glass jars that once held jelly, pickles, spices, and yogurt that neighbors and friends dropped off on my porch. I carry these colorful arrangements outside and put them on a small step ladder under our cherry tree with a colorful handmade sign that says: “Free flowers.”

I’ve been going to my yoga teacher training that’s local and in person. I was trained in yoga over two decades ago, but I wanted to deepen my teaching skills and be a part of a local community diving deeper into yoga together.

I’ve been up late with my family watching World Cup soccer games. That has sometimes meant that I am tired the next day because I am not a late night chica! But my son is home from college and my daughter is a teen and these moments of being together are precious.

I’ve been outside going on walks with our dog and sometimes stopping to meet other dog owners. I’ve been going to my kettlebell class and seeing the same ladies. When I wasn’t there for two weeks, one of the women, an older Korean woman who usually has her mat next to mine said, “Lisa, where have you been?! I’ve missed you!”

When i finish work, I try not to go online and veg out. I call a friend as I go for a walk, cook dinner, or clean up the house.

This may all sound so ordinary, but it’s absolutely filled with life - the smell of earth in my hands, fragrant roses, popcorn popping for watching soccer. The feel of grass beneath my bare feet, the hammock holding me, belly laughs as I walk and talk to a best friend.

With such big breaks from being online and with such lengthier moments of being outside, connecting with people in real time, and moving my body, I feel something so vital to my body and soul: I feel more in touch with my aliveness.

Maybe you too have been noticing how you are drawn toward aliveness this summer. Are you watching the World Cup games and how strangers are connecting and dancing on the streets with each other?! Maybe that’s the only time you are getting onto social media or watching tv. Maybe you want to get to the beach or want to break out the board games with your family. Maybe you want to hug more. Maybe you want to pass up the promotion so you can actually have a LIFE!

I believe humanity is at a critical juncture as AI increasingly impacts every single area of our lives - how we live, work, think, and relate - and it influences how we spend our time and what we pay attention to.

As we are pulled more into our phones, we are rapidly being pulled away from something vital to human flourishing: feeling alive.

We are losing touch with the ordinary moments that make our lives feel rich and meaningful.

The warmth of a conversation with a dear friend at a local cafe or on a walk.

The delight of knowing our neighbors well enough that we stand in the driveway and chat on a random Tuesday evening.

The feeling of walking barefoot on the earth.

The comfort of sitting beside someone you love and watching a movie without the pressure to hurry and get back to all the things we “have to do.”

The joy of making something with our hands.

The wonder and tranquillity of sitting in a hammock and watching fireflies come out at dusk.

Doesn’t that all sound exquisitely enchanting right now?!

These days, are connected to more information and more people than any time in human history. Yet I see how more and more people feel unhappy, disconnected, anxious, “blah,” overwhelmed, and lonely.

Our souls are so very hungry.

We are hungry for aliveness. We are hungry for belonging. To feel connected. To be a part of something larger than ourselves.

We are hungry to linger and feel the breeze on our skin. To laugh with people we love. To lay on our backs in the grass and look up at the stars in awe. To smell our favorite dessert baking in the oven and sharing it with loved ones.

We are hungry to use our hands and create something beautiful and share it with others - a handmade card, a loaf of bread, a wind chime made of seashells, a crocheted blanket.

We are hungry to fully inhabit our lives. To hug and be hugged. To feel the gentle and loving touch of another human being.

Don’t you feel that hunger too?!

As technology expands, humanity has some critical questions to ask ourselves. Buckle up, because here we go and get real and honest:

What kind of people will we become?

Will our lives be organized around efficiency, productivity, and optimization? Or around connection, wonder, belonging, creativity, and aliveness?

Will we allow algorithms to shape our attention without really questioning it? Or will we consciously choose what truly nourishes our minds, bodies, hearts, and souls?

Will we become increasingly disconnected from ourselves, one another, and the earth? Or will we remember how we are relational beings and how we need this earth to be flourishing too in order to survive?

Will we recognize the cosmic potential in our souls and at our fingertips at this point in time?

So what gets ignited in you - stirred in you, lights up in you - as you read this?! Feel into THAT! That is aliveness calling to you!

That is why I stepped away from producing so much online and created really messy, imperfect gardens with weeds and seeds all mixed together. That is why I decided to be a part of a six month in person and local yoga training that both challenges me and deepens an inner strength in me. That is why I hang with my family and chat about life even if I disagree with people’s viewpoints. That is why I walk my pup and initiate sometimes awkward conversations with other dog owners. That is why I keep showing up to my kettlebell and yoga classes. That is why I put away work for the day and linger in long conversations with friends.

I am restoring my aliveness. I am feeling into what makes me feel alive and human and connected and happy to be here even if at times it’s annoying, awkward, challenging, or hard.

Do you feel this desire for aliveness coming awake in you, too?!

The future does not have to be shaped only by technology, what’s on your social media feed, or some billionaire’s latest AI project designed to drag you into their altered reality. And don’t get me wrong - I am actually not against technology or even AI. I am for humanity consciously shaping the future based on what matters and is vital to humans and the earth flourishing.

We can shape the future by the choices we make every day. I know - I get it - we have jobs and bills and worries and responsibilities. But that is where we have to find our agency.

Sometimes that means making one different, small choice.

Maybe there is a moment this week you can choose to linger instead of rush.

Or get together with someone instead of isolate and sit on your couch alone scrolling on your phone.

Or create just for the experience of shaping something with your hands instead of going online to buy another pair of shoes.

Or take a chance talking to a neighbor.

Or ask a store clerk how their day is going.

Take the risk of feeling more alive!

Other times (and I am just going to be super honest with you the way I am with my clients) you have to make some big life-altering decisions based on what your body and soul are crying out to you to choose.

Maybe there are some bigger questions to ask yourself that might mean you make some big changes:

When do I feel most alive?

What activities, people, and places leave me feeling more awake, connected,soothed, and present?

What leaves me feeling numb, depleted, disconnected, or “blah”?

What am I hungry for that I keep trying to satisfy with things that don’t actually nourish me?

If I continue living exactly as I am today, who will I be in five years?

Am I using technology as a tool or am I using it as a replacement for listening to my own inner wisdom or getting feedback from an actual human?

What am I organizing my life around?

This is “soul turning toward soul.”

I pray for our soulful embodiment - being around sunlight, laughter, and the closeness of other living things.

This is me pressing a prayer “into the soil of our earth-bodies” and hoping.

Us and nature flourishing in our aliveness - that is the seed I will keep watering.

This is cosmic potential blooming from within us.

Your soul knows how to linger. Your body knows what soothes it. Your heart knows what it loves.

Lean into THAT!

And we as humans do know how to evolve! We know that compassion and joy and belonging and celebration and gathering and being alongside one another are what bring us alive and will truly make a life - and this planet - rich and fully alive.

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PS I am making this free to all readers. If you’d like to support my work, I would greatly appreciate you becoming a paid subscriber. I feel like everything is so expensive these days and I want to make sure that anyone who wants to access these practices and inspiration can do so. Your generosity supports this possibility.