Ever notice the way nature is present and available, embodying an easy, unfolding course of life, almost whispering to us to see to ourselves in it? When I slip ”into” the swirling chaos of the world through stress, demands, inputs, fears and attempts to control things, a tree’s flowing branches remind me that yes, we are both in this space, but not of it.
Concepts like “There is a season for all things” and “The only constant in life is change” are relentlessly demonstrated by our natural surroundings. It’s as if the sky, the ground, and everything in between, including the birds, the flowers and even our pets, know something that keeps them steady and at peace.
When I need to pull my head out of chaotic thinking and stress overwhelm, I know nature is always available as the Radiant Exemplar (love this term from Optimize.me) of being in, but not of the world. I can think of dozens of ways I rely on those reminders on a daily basis. One example stands out from last Spring which I captured on an early morning walk by way of a photograph.
Along one side of the road, there were wild flowers, trees and “weeds” growing furiously. On the other side, roadway. When I noticed the wildlife, It was as if the seeds that had been germinating all Winter were just waiting for the gun shot start of Spring, to see which ones would fully bloom and reach their potential (aka, self actualize) first.
We are sometimes like this, trying to get ahead. Racing. Elbow to elbow. “On the treadmill” of life, not able to slow it down or step off without falling on our faces. (I actually once fell asleep while walking on a treadmill in the early morning, I don’t recommend it!) How do we catch our breaths amidst the intense pace of daily life with all of our responsibilities and demands pulling at our shirt sleeves?
The wild flowers and weeds have figured this one out. See below, the one or two purple blooms going out of their way to escape the crowded, overgrown field of “noise.” They literally grew horizontally to relocate from the hoard of wild plants that overtook each other, competing for space on the inside of the guard rail. It seemed they needed room before they could fully bloom. They had outgrown their field.
I felt connected to nature’s way of finding the quiet and space that is sometimes needed to grow. And was again reminded that we, and nature are already perfect. We can trust our cravings for space, quiet and a relief from chaos.
I can’t see any evidence that the natural order of things fails to consistently provide all the information we need to do the next right thing. Our challenge seems to be hearing that inner feedback underneath the static . Sometimes the messages of our “nature” and what we know to be true get drowned out by the clamor of life.
I share this image as a reminder, that sometimes we can’t bloom where we are and need to make changes. Even if the rest of the flowers seem content where they are. We don’t need to look outward, to take our cues from what the others are doing to know what’s best for us. We just need to be open, and receive the instruction our essence provides. In this case, it was to move horizontally before rising was possible.
