Say hello to Pedro, he is a beautiful young fox cub. More of Pedro's story in a little while.
In the last week here in the northern hemisphere we crossed the threshold from winter to spring. It's been weeks now in the Southwest of the UK that the daffodils have been smiling their happy dance of yellow and green. They are the advanced messengers of the lengthening days and shortening nights herald by the spring equinox. Over the weekend the clocks rolled an hour forward extending the light even further into the early evening. Up in the sky Venus and Jupiter are showering us with the energy of love and expansion. My life has been on a roller-coaster journey for much of the year. Intense experiences popping up all over the place. I am learning so much and yet occasionally wishing for some respite in my unfolding story. The occasional oasis of calm or sneaky peak of clarity is much appreciated amidst the hoopla. So many questions are swimming about my head leaving unanswered trails in their wake. Questions like ...
What is the obstacle in my life that needs to be seen and invited in as a companion?
Why am I so triggered by the voice of judgement from others?
What still remains hidden from view that needs to be seen and witnessed?
As happens in spring we plant seeds to grow and be harvested in the coming year. I thought I knew the names of some of my seeds germinating in the darkness. And yet what I hadn't expected was the rushing torrent of fears that are re-emerging from the darkness to be so dense. Another reminded of the hurts and wounds in me that still need to be tended as much as the seeds of my possible futures. Although it does not get any easier, at least I now have the experience to know that I should not turn away. Once I can hear my inner voice, I recognise the process of deep listening is needed and deep creativity. As Amit Goswami would say ... do-be-do-be-do. Reflect, act, reflect some more and get more active. While this dance goes on in me, in each of us, I have to be on the look out for a spark to appear in a moment of lucidity. it is then the hands of the artist in me can begin to shape, create, dance and sing to move the spark and manifest it into a more physical form. From spirit to matter. And yes it does matter.
Recently I read a story of a tiny young fox called Pedro. His story reminded me that the process of tending to the nurturing and nourishing of the spark within is just like the way we would tend to any new born, be it animal, vegetable or mineral !!!
... he was discovered (like a spark) lost and separated from his mother. Without the love and care provided by the people at the Secret World Wildlife Rescue Centre, Pedro would not have survived alone for much longer in the hedgrow, he is too young. When he is a little stronger and older he will be returned to the wild to be the fox he is born to be. And that is the beauty of creativity, of the spark or seed of life ... life is always lived in relationship. We are never truly alone. Although it may feel that way sometimes. Beginnings need tender loving care before they can be set free to live their destiny.
In the springtime we plant seeds that with care will grow and mature into beautiful beings ... thereby fulfilling their potential and eventually returning back to the darkness to repeat the cycle again one day. Every step of the journey has its purpose and meaning. Each step needs care and attention. Early on it can feel lonely and precarious. And yet it is through relationship and a deep sense of connection to others that we find our way.
On Sunday evening I heard a poem by Mary Oliver that holds a similar message. It is called Wild Geese and goes like this ...
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
in the family of things.
