Iulia Bochis - The Sun, the Sea, and the Stars: Ancient Wisdom as a Healing Journey

Copyright 2023 by Iulia Bochis

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. Originally published in Great Britain by Pop Press, an imprint of Ebury Publishing, a division of the Penguin Random House Ltd., London, in 2022.

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CLARKSON POTTER is a trademark and POTTER with colophon is a registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022944735

ISBN9780593580424

Ebook ISBN9780593580431

Book design by maru studio, adapted for ebook

Cover design by Robert Diaz

rhid_prh_6.0_142782704_c0_r0

Contents

FOR EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON I THINK GETTING STARTED IS OFTEN THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF ANY TASK.BEGINNINGS RARELY MEET US ALONE. THEY OFTEN BRING ALONG FEAR, DOUBT, UNCERTAINTY, AND MANY OTHER THOUGHTS THAT DONT MAKE THINGS ANY EASIER. THOSE WERE EVEN THE FEELINGS I HAD BEFORE STARTING THIS BOOK. YET ONCE I GOT GOING, EVERYTHING STARTED FALLING INTO PLACE, AND SOON ENOUGH I FOUND MYSELF WALKING DOWN THIS PATH FULL OF JOY AND EXCITEMENT.WHEN I TAKE A MOMENT TO THINK ABOUT IT, I REALIZE THIS APPLIES TO ALMOST EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER ATTEMPTED IN MY LIFE. FROM LEARNING TO RIDE A BICYCLE, TO MOVING AWAY FOR UNIVERSITY AND THEN SHARING MY ART WITH THE WORLD. IF I THINK EVEN FURTHER, I REALIZE THAT SO MANY OF THE MOMENTS I HAVE LIVED THROUGH, I HAVE ALSO READ ABOUT IN BOOKS, HEARD IN SONGS OR WITNESSED IN MY FRIENDS LIVES.THIS BOOK WAS BORN FROM A DEEP-ROOTED FEELING THAT, WHILE WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT IN SO MANY WAYS, WE ALSO HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON. THIS BOOK IS A STORY ABOUT THE VARIOUS MOMENTS OF SIGNIFICANCE WE FACE AS WE JOURNEY THROUGH OUR LIVES. SOME OF THESE MOMENTS ARE: CHANGE, LONELINESS, LOVE, AND HAPPINESS. HOWEVER, IN THIS STORY YOU WILL FIND THEM POSING AS: AUTUMN, WINTER, SPRING, AND SUMMER. AS MUCH AS I THINK OF THESE NAMES AS SEASONS IN THE OUTSIDE WORLD, I ALSO THINK OF THEM AS THE SEASONS OF OUR SOULS.I WOULD LIKE YOU TO THINK OF THIS BOOK AS A MIRROR. A MIRROR THAT REFLECTS YOUR WONDERFUL INNER BEAUTY AND THE MAGIC OF THE WORLD SURROUNDING YOU. AND THE WORLD TRULY IS A MAGICAL PLACE, ISNT IT? DURING THE DAY THE BIRDS SING THEIR SONGS AND THE SUN TRAVELS ACROSS THE SKY, ILLUMINATING EVERYTHING. IN THE DEPTHS OF DARKNESS, THE MOON AND THE STARS SHINE DOWN ON US, AND THE WAVES CRASH ENDLESSLY ALONG THE SHORES.I HOPE THIS BOOK WILL REMIND YOU THAT THERE IS BEAUTY IN EVERYTHING, IF YOUR HEART IS OPEN TO RECEIVE IT. I ALSO HOPE THIS BOOK WILL SHOW YOU THAT, EVEN DURING THE DARKEST NIGHT, YOU ARE NEVER ALONE. WHEN IT SEEMS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN LEFT BEHIND, IN A MOMENT OF STILLNESS YOU MIGHT REALIZE THAT THE INFINITE STARS, THE RESTLESS SEA, AND THE PATIENT MOON ARE ALL TRAVELING ALONG WITH YOU.A TRAVELER HAS AGREED TO JOURNEY WITH US THROUGHOUT THIS BOOK. THE STARTING POINT OF THEIR ADVENTURE IS SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDST OF AUTUMN, THE SEASON OF CHANGE. I HAVE FOUND CHANGE TO BE A VERY DIFFICULT TOPIC IN MY LIFE, AND I KNOW THIS TO BE THE CASE FOR MANY OTHERS. SO LET THIS SEASON BE OUR FIRST TEACHER IN TRANSFORMING, SURRENDERING, AND LETTING GO.WITH LOVE,
IULIA

THE TREES LOOK VULNERABLE, SHEDDING THEIR PAST LIVES

ALL THINGS CHANGE AND WE CHANGE WITH THEM THEY WHISPER

MAYBE ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE

MAYBE YOU ARE SEARCHING THE BRANCHES FOR WHAT ONLY APPEARS AT THE ROOTS RUMI

MY ROOTS LOOK DIFFERENT

BUT I, TOO, AM MY OWN HOME

THERE ARE PLACES WE ARE YET TO GO

WHERE WE ALREADY BELONG

FORGETTING ONESELF
IS OPENING ONESELF

DGEN

THERE ARE SO MANY PARTS OF ME I HAVE YET TO DISCOVER I THINK YOU SHOULD KEEP GOING,
JUST TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS

NEW BEGINNINGS ARE OFTEN DISGUISED AS PAINFUL ENDINGS LAO TZU

AS AUTUMN MOVES INTO WINTER, THE OUTSIDE WORLD BEGINS TO APPEAR LESS AND LESS FRIENDLY. THE NIGHTS GROW COLDER AND LONGER, AND THE DAYS SEEM TO BE SHRINKING AWAY FROM US. IN THE SAME WAY, AT CERTAIN TIMES IN OUR LIVES, WE CAN FIND DARKNESS DESCENDS UPON US. IT SEEMS LIKE THE SUN HAS SET, THE LIGHTS HAVE GONE OUT, AND THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO SHOW US THE WAY FORWARD. WE ARE LOST.THE NEXT PART OF OUR JOURNEY TAKES US THROUGH THIS SEASON OF TEMPORARY DARKNESS. AS COLD AND UNAPPEALING AS IT MAY SEEM AT FIRST, THE DARKNESS OF WINTER CAN BE A BEAUTIFUL TIME. A TIME TO REST, REFLECT, AND LEARN MORE ABOUT OURSELVES.AND IF WE ARE WILLING TO WAIT JUST A LITTLE LONGER, THE MOON AND THE STARS WILL JOIN US, GUIDING THE WAY.Next page