I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the Northern Lights dancing with your naked eye. It’s the universe in motion. So incredibly beautiful that it literally brought tears to my eyes. Was that evening in Finland a few days ago just coincidence—or a fulfilled order placed with the universe?
You probably know the phrase: “The journey is the destination.” And that journey toward the Northern Lights—that was our destination. Not the lights themselves, because we had already seen them a few days earlier from the ship. “We’re here for the adventure,” Anke and I told our guide Storm when he asked if we were excited for the evening. He grins from ear to ear. “That’s the right attitude.” (Finally someone who doesn’t try to squeeze out a Northern Lights guarantee.)
“Look, the question is not if we’ll find a cloud-free spot. Because it exists. The only question is… where,” I say to him on our way to the minivan. He nods.
To find that clear sky, driver Adam and Storm plan with us to drive from Tromsø in Norway to Finland—maybe even into Sweden if necessary. While the two of them keep scanning the sky over the next 3.5 hours, most of the adventurers in our small group have their eyes closed. As for me—I’m grateful. Grateful for the vehicle. Grateful for Adam and Storm. Grateful for my thermal suit. Grateful for the beautiful day in Tromsø. Grateful for running water on the ship. And so on.
I ride a wave of gratitude that has very little to do with the future. Of course, I can already see us standing under the Northern Lights as they dance above us. But I’m still grateful for everything that is right now. Even if it were just the journey itself and we wouldn’t see any Northern Lights today. Why? Because life is what happens along the way—not the moment of crossing the finish line that’s over a few seconds later. Joy in life—meaning joy in the journey itself—helps more than most people think.
What the universe also doesn’t distinguish is the difference between a vivid imagination and actual reality—because it’s about the vibration behind it. How do you know what you’re “broadcasting” right now? Look at your feelings. They are the barometer of what you’re sending out. It’s not your emotions that create something. It’s the vibration you emit. Your feelings simply show you what you’re currently creating more of. They translate that vibration into joy, frustration—or anything in between.
Look, I can choose to feel happy sitting in a closed vehicle while it’s raining, completely relaxed. Or I can stare at the Northern Lights app for hours, feeling anxious because the rain just won’t stop. And you know what else I would lose besides my mood? My phone battery. And I could use that much better later for photos. So I relaxed, trusted the professionals, sent out a meaningful vibration—and that was it. Was I happy? Oh yes. Absolutely.
My feelings always show me what I’m sending out: gratitude and joy—or frustration and lack. You can’t send out negative energy and expect positive results.
“I’ll only be happy once we see the Northern Lights.” So you feel bad now, and only after… then… after the sighting, everything will be good. That’s going to be difficult. Shit in = shit out.
Could it theoretically be that there are no Northern Lights that night? Sure. We had a young man in our group who was out for the third night in a row—and hadn’t seen anything the previous two nights. But we don’t tune into his “lack.” He hopes and keeps his fingers crossed. We know the Northern Lights exist. We just don’t know where yet. And we have the best driver and the best guide—I tell Storm that right before we leave.
The way you think creates a matching vibration. And that vibration is reflected back to you by the universe (aka life) 1:1. It always fits. So keep an eye on your feelings—they tell you what you are currently sending out, consciously or unconsciously.
And then? What do you do when you realize you’re not sending out the best signal?
Your feelings come from your thinking. Start there. What are you focusing on? The sky above Tromsø? Rain? Clouds? Well… good luck with that. Or the knowing that in the end, everything will be fine. And if it’s not fine yet, it’s not the end. Because for us, the evening had just begun. The tour lasts nine hours.
And for us, that night, through the dance of the lights, we received exactly what we had sent out. What do you want to send out from now on—and therefore receive in the future?
Once you know that, focus on it. And be certain that it will be. No hoping. No crossing fingers. Clarity and certainty matter. Because life doesn’t respond to your wishes—it responds to your state. And your state is entirely your responsibility.
Period.
