Wednesday 1 October 2014

Nature is one of our greatest teachers

When we look at nature. Really study it and see how toads find puddles of water and sit in them - wherever they may be. As my husband found Mr. Kingpin, our resident toad, happily sleeping on one of our front steps in a little puddle of water just right for him at 5 am this morning. Not a care in the world. Happy as could be to be sitting in a puddle just big enough for him. Enjoying his new spot after all the rain.
How cats come from places that cause them stress to find new homes, as did our neighbor's cat, Sally, who left them to come to us because she no longer felt it was her home anymore. And no matter how hard we resisted her and would not feed her, all that happened was that she licked her fur off to let us know she needed a change. Needed somewhere else to go. Her stress getting so great for her that she was nearly bald. Our neighbor compassionate enough to take Sally to the vet and the vet telling her she needed to let the cat go. To let her come to our home. None of us believed the vet at first. How could a cat be stressed? Nonsense we all thought. But here we are some 3 months later and Sally is full of fur. Her fur not only  completely back but glossy too now that she has moved in with us. Left the place that no longer served her and come to the place that does. Even if it is only stone's throw away from where she used to live, she knew this was her home. So she kept coming until everyone realized this was where she was meant to be.
I look at her sometimes and feel envious of her because she does not feel guilty for leaving what was not right for her. For letting go of what no longer served her. Not with any malice because when she feels like it, she saunters back down there and spends some time because she knows she did what she had to do to make life right for her. And because she did she is thriving rather than suffering.
When we study nature and see that we are not meant to be in places or with people that stress us or do not give us what we want, we discover that life always provides for us if we are willing to adapt. Willing to change. Willing to let go of whatever no longer serves us. And trust the Universe will guide us to where we need to go. To be.
Life is always trying to point us in the direction we need to go. Away from the negative. Away from all that drains us to the place where we will find peace. Understanding peace is only with us for as long as we allow it to be with us. As long as we surrender to it and let go of all the negative that is constantly seeking us out.
When we study nature, really spend time in it, we observe that it is constantly changing to prepare for the season it finds itself in. My Poinciana tree that was once vibrant red is now all green because it has shed its red flowers and is now ready for Fall as Summer has passed. And soon it will be less green when winter comes through.
When we really study nature we see that it is constantly changing and adapting to the time it finds itself in; so why are we so resistant to change? Why are we so concerned about what others may think when we crave change when it is our lives and not theirs. When it is none of our business what they think about us because it is our lives not theirs. Particularly since those who make it their business to be in other people's business have no business of their own because they are always busy being in other people's lives, they neglect their own. Or they are fearful of who they really are so they spend their days trying to destroy those who see it is necessary to change in order to thrive.
When did we become so beholden to a life that does not serve us? To a life that keeps us chained to a place that is like a prison for us rather than taking our clues from nature. From watching the animals and trees that we think are less clever than us; but in reality are more clever than us because they do what they have to do to survive and to thrive. Constantly changing to suit the changing environment around them. Recognizing that if they remain stagnant, they will die off.
Shouldn't we take our cues from nature and adapt and change to find people, places and things that suit us rather than eat away at us until we have no fur left like Sally? Wouldn't we rather be like Sally and find the home that suits us? Or like Mr. Kingpin and find the puddle that is just right for us? Nature is always giving us clues about where we ought to be -and it's up to us to take off the blinders and be who we are meant to be. Shutting out the naysayers because if they were doing what they were meant to be doing, they would be happy for us rather than envious of us.
Nature is one of our greatest teachers if only we would see it for what it really is, we would be much happier people and certainly much more content...

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