Talk and Tales from Coco, Optimist in Charge at The Shiny Butter Blog
Reach for what's real
I'm sure you've heard this before, Reader,
...that we're spiritual beings having a physical experience. This makes sense to me.
However!
I detect an assumption that the physical part is the lesser half of being a "spiritual being having a human experience."
And my hot take on that:
There's some of that "physical is less than spiritual" assumption in people reaching for enlightenment or something along that road, as though it's more holy or whatever to be pure spirit.
While I surely see the importance of being in tune with the Divine, of feeling one with the Creator, of feeling deeply connected to Source and aligned with All That Is, we're missing something.
If our "highest goal" is at the expense of also going about the business of the life we're physically experiencing, we're missing out on a lot. I mean, here we are. Having a very real, no less "real" experience in these human bodies.
And what's the rush to be purely spiritual? We've been there, and we'll be back soon enough.
While we're right here walking around on this luscious planet, I say we soak up this experience. It's pretty remarkable.
Can you imagine?
Can you imagine not feeling something soft with your hands—something like a baby's skin or a soft cat on your lap, or your favorite shirt that's so cozy and soft? Or not holding hands with someone, or hugging someone?
Can you imagine not reveling in the taste and pure physical enjoyment of every delicious meal you get to eat? Or that feeling when a meal really hits the spot? It never gets old!
Can you imagine not hearing music that you can't help but move to, or birds singing or the sound of water flowing—like at the ocean or a stream or a fountain or hearing the roar at the foot of a huge waterfall?
Can you imagine never getting to smell lemons and cedar trees and confederate jasmine, or someone in the neighborhood grilling out on a summer evening?
Can you imagine missing out on the feeling of taking a walk, or having a picnic on a pretty day, or riding your bike and feeling the breeze as you pedal, or being at a great party, or laughing out loud with someone?
Hands-on
Even given our clashes with one another, and just how difficult life gets in general, being in these bodies is what makes us human.
And what's more, there's no telling how we'll each do this thing.
While we have plenty of examples that have come before us, we're really just making things up as we go... which makes us co-creators in this universe. We're literally adding to the universe with our human life.
I challenge the assumption that our very temporary physical experience is inferior to our spiritual being-ness.
Our spiritual-ness is made all the more amazing by this hands-on life because of our capacity for calling forth and reflecting our spiritual nature.
So I've got a couple of things for your physical enjoyment
1:
First, here's a get-you-moving playlist I made for you. See if you can sit still!
You'll recognize a lot of these songs, but some of them, maybe not so much.
(Apologies to those outside the US who have difficulty pulling up YouTube videos. Pretty sure you can search for the Jon Batiste video, but I don't know about the other one.)
Soak up the ride, you miracle of cosmic technology
This life is a remarkable experience. It's mighty hard a lot of the time, but somehow we still want to enjoy ourselves anyway.
I'm working on something very cool for you that I hope will make this physical life all the more smooth and pleasant.
Stay tuned—I'll have it to you next week!
Thanks for sharing the internet with me today
Stay real, keep the faith, and shine on, my friend,
Coco
Hey, SHINY:
ALSO ↓
coaching
Let's talk human to human, because we all need more than just answers from AI—we need each other.
Free sessions and discounts available, no questions asked.
I don't use AI for writing. My aim in all my writing is to be as real, human, and fully alive as possible—and to share my very real, human, fully alive experience with my readers.
I love me some shiny things, but with all of AI's promises and assurances, I still choose the slow, hands-on, manual, analog, self-reliant, old-school, defiantly non-plagiarized path of writing—without asking any form of AI for ideas, inspiration, help, or even proofreading and grammar correction (because I've discovered it's not as good or "intuitive" as it claims to be at those, either).
[Also, as of 5/6/25 all photos are my own (not stock) unless otherwise stated.]
