On the other hand…
What are you being right now? Anxious? Frustrated? Annoyed?
Or
Kind? Grateful? Empathetic? Generous? Calm?
In our daily lives ‘out in the world’, our society is weighted so heavily on the ‘doing’. The truth is, we do and do and do. Then, suddenly when the doing is taken away from us, what do we have?
We have ourselves.
The person we look at in the mirror each day. (Yes, that one, that needs a haircut.) And who do we see?
I’ve been gazing at nature these past few months. Watching her begin to emerge from her seasons of quiet, shedding, releasing. Dormant, but all the while, becoming stronger, resilient; preparing to emerge into the beauty, color and majesty that nurturing warmth and rain can bring.
WE ARE nature.
We too, need time to nestle down; to reflect, to notice – the world around us, yes. But also, ourselves – What are our sensations telling us? What emotions are down there bubbling up? What is our inner wisdom whispering to us?
I’ve been imagining a caterpillar in its chrysalis; squirming, writhing, wriggling – literally giving up the life it’s known forever, to get out. The caterpillar miraculously sheds its skin and emerges; transformed, brilliant and free.
I see us all in this stage of metamorphosis, yearning for the doing. Craving the planning, the accomplishing and the action - wondering what’s become of the life we’ve always known.
But at the same time, if we’re lucky, we have some moments to consider what kind of being will we see in the mirror when we emerge.
We can see the skies are clearer. We can see the scars that all of our doing has left on our planet, our health and our relationships. We know there is value in contemplating a different kind of life for ourselves and our planet.
What an opportunity this could be, if only we had the courage of a caterpillar.
What will you be when the world sees you again?
