Instead of Fear ... LOVE

Oh that all choices could be so light!

Whether you like it or not, you are the end result of everything you have ever experienced up until this very moment. What you are is what you have learned. Gregge Tiffen (The Journey Continues: Near Life Experiences – March, 2010)

When fear is used to control us, love is how we rebel. … Be kind. Be connected. Be unafraid. Rivera Sun (The Dandelion Insurrection)

Perhaps it was my own attention, but somehow the coronavirus pandemic seemed top of mind for many emails I received and posts that popped up on my Facebook timeline yesterday.

While most was positive, informative and helpful, one post in particular resonated with me for its sincere, yet light-hearted reminder that we are at choice in everything we do, including how we respond to this current event. “Let’s play a game,” the post began (I was hooked at the word ‘play’!). “It’s called the ‘Instead of’ game. It works like this. During this COVID-19 pandemic, instead of …”. My friend, author/activist Rivera Sun continued with her list of choices: “… grocery shopping for my faves, I’m going to dig into my back stock. (Instead of) going to social events, I’m going to journal and do some inner work. …”

I love this idea for its light and creative approach to a serious issue which we each must address in our own ways. For me, lightness always seems to ease the burden. The game is a reminder that I am at choice in EVERYthing I do.

My reply comment began “Instead of starting my own list, I’m going to use yours and build from there.” Hey, I need not ‘reinvent the wheel’. I continued, “instead of fretting, I’m going to walk the labyrinth and go on longer walks in the woods with Zadie Byrd.” I’m adding to that list as choices present themselves or as I find myself taking a turn toward fear.

It's a great game, a way to be present to the choices I need to make for me. Playing in this way lightened a decision I’d made to suspend my participation in a weekly Feldenkrais class with several other folks, and it reminded me that either love or fear rest at the root of our choices.

Gregge’s quote reminded me that in every moment we are learning, adding to the storehouse of knowledge in our consciousness. At the same time, we have all the knowledge and wisdom that we’ve experienced and accumulated throughout time. We are who we’ve become through those experiences.

In the face of crises we make choices about how to respond. We learn from those choices. As the world faces the pandemic and other disruptive events, how will we each respond? How can we respond from a place of love not fear?

Was my decision to not go to the class based in fear? It certainly could be. I thought of it more as ‘acting from an abundance of caution’, and I realized that it was about more than protecting myself, but also out of care for my classmates.

It’s possible that love and fear can make the same choice. But the energy behind those choices draws us to very different directions. Choosing not to participate from a root of love, opens me to care and curiosity about what’s possible ‘instead of’ attending. Acting on that I found an online resource of recorded practices to guide me. Making the same choice from fear would likely have led me down the path of anger at ‘having to’ miss the practice.

In the end, the organizer decided to cancel our group for now. Having already made my choice, I’m able to embrace her decision with appreciation as one made from love and care.

Instead of fear, I embrace love, reason and creativity. I’m curious to practice using what I know. And, I wonder what my learning is as I navigate this phase of life experience.

I’m definitely ‘in’ the ‘Instead of’ game What about you? Will you play too?

Zadie Byrd’s first hike to the Ziggurat

Tapping Into Essence

Morning Trail - Heading for Home

Within any amount of knowledge is essence. It is the essence that produces wisdom, and it is wisdom that registers in consciousness. You are worth more than you or I can ever describe in human terms. You are irrepressible and invincible. Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: The Nature of Feminine Truth – March, 2011)

Gregge’s quote has been with me since yesterday morning when its wisdom leapt off the page and pulled me into the muse. (Yikes! “It’s only Wednesday”, I thought.)

On each walk with Zadie Byrd (yes, ‘Sadie’ has a new name that seems to perfectly fit her essence!) I looked deeply into the mountains, the trees, the rocks, and the vast valley recognizing the beauty that is nature’s essence. A neighbor called with produce to share, the essence of love.

Later ‘essence’ popped into a conversation with a colleague and friend as she updated me on her book, sharing that she is aiming to share the ‘essence’ of the women she’s profiling in the project, not long details of their stories.

Except perhaps when I was focused on organizing info for my tax return, the ‘essence muse’ was with me throughout the day. Perhaps on some unconscious level it was there as well.

In the evening, as I read several chapters of Rivera Sun’s prescient 2013 novel, The Dandelion Insurrection, with its underlying theme of love and the movement’s motto, “Be kind. Be connected. Be Unafraid.”, I saw more clearly than ever that love is the essence that weaves us together as humans on this planet. Indeed, love weaves the fabric of the Universe.

I surrendered to slumber knowing that ‘love is our essence’.  I woke this morning with a deep sense that love is our core. Not just mine, yours, our friends, family and those who share our views, EVERYone’s.

This isn’t a new idea of course, but the muse invited me to feel it more deeply, to embrace love as the essence that breathes worth and value into each of our lives, to more fully BE the love that makes us irrepressible and invincible. The muse reminded me that love is the essence of the Universe of which we are each part and parcel. What is true of the whole is true for its parts. That’s you, me, everything, and EVERYone.

I began to see love even at the core of fear and of hate, but that’s a musing for another day.

For now, look deeply into what you know. Look until you see the love embedded there. Use what you know with the love at its core, the same love that is your core as well. Love is my experiment for the week. Join me?

Zadie Byrd Marching Home with her Antler Find

Revealing Habits

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

As we value experiences above things, we get more conscious and more open to more profound and more complex experiences. Nisha J. Manek, M.D. (Bridging Science and Spirit: The Genius of William A. Tiller’s Physics and the Promise of Information Medicine)

Now is the time to take the corrective measures to break out of old habit patterns. Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Revealing Habits – February, 2011)

An experience this week and the awareness that it presented reminded me of just how much our habits are like the water a fish swims in. Like that water, many – perhaps most – of our habits are transparent to us, operating as our navigation system through daily life. Generated over lifetimes of experiences, our habits are hidden drivers on this sojourn.

Without awareness, habits rule. With awareness, we create choice.

Sadly, in our culture today we’ve adopted habits that are anchored in fear. As I discovered for myself this week, we probably don’t need to look beyond our front door, to identify habits generated from fear. Collectively beyond our door, fear drives chaos and divisiveness in the world. Perhaps it’s time to assess our habits, at least some of them. Perhaps it’s time to anchor them in qualities of the Universe, like love, peace, light rather than in the fear that has us seek to control that which is uncontrollable.

This muse emerged from a conversation last week, in which, a friend shared an experience she had while having her vision checked. When she was choosing the ‘better’ of two choices, she realized that while one choice offered clearer vision, the other choice ‘felt’ better. Hmmm…

I loved the awareness that she brought to the ‘exam’ (the doc was blown away too!). As I reflected on her ‘how does it feel’ distinction, I realized that a part of my current self-care/health maintenance simply didn’t feel right. Taking my extensive array of vitamins and supplements, all of which make perfect rational sense given my age, etc. etc., no longer felt good to me. And, it hadn’t for some time.

Upon reflection, I saw that this aspect of self-care had become an unconscious habit of gulping down pills with little awareness, other than perhaps a touch of annoyance that I ‘had to’ take so many. Ouch!

I’d lost the clarity of my intention – to maintain excellent health and vibrant energy. I didn’t prepare/organize or swallow with any intention in my awareness other than to ‘get it done’. Rather, I gulped them down hoping that I won’t become ill. I was acting in a habitual pattern of fear without awareness. Little wonder that taking them didn’t feel right or good!

And so, I stopped. No vitamins. No supplements other than nourishing Chinese herb formulas that have ‘felt’ right since I started using them several years ago and infoceuticals to support my biofield. I’m giving my body a rest. Feeding it clean, nourishing food. Being clear and intentional about and grateful for EVERYthing that crosses my lips. Then, in time, with strong intention grounded in love not fear, and using the intelligence of my body’s wisdom as a guide, I’ll re-evaluate and give this body what it seems to need.

In the meantime, I’m curious to look more deeply at my habits – habits of action (and inaction), habits of thought – to examine how they ‘feel’. Are they ‘right’ for me in each moment? Are they anchored in love, peace, light, power (not force or control), beauty, harmony, abundance? Or are they habits of fear to give the illusion of keeping a dangerous world at bay? Stay tuned. More habits may be revealed. Better yet, take some time to notice and be at choice about your own. 

A Colorado Blue Sky Day!

TWO!

From ONE - Split! - Two

You cannot separate yourself from the Universe. … I must find within the separation the basic one unity so that I never really leave the thing I am separated from, and I never really leave the Universe or you. … We have never left each other. Gregge Tiffen (The Language of a Mystic: Polarities – February, 2009)

When I noticed today’s date – 2-20-2020 – this morning as I began to write, I felt a surge of curiosity and sensed ‘Wow, what a powerful day!’  I wondered ‘what’s up with two … and with the sum of today’s 2s, 8?’

As I reflected a bit and read from Gregge Tiffen’s booklet quoted above, I thought about the seeming paradox that there is a Universal Law of Separation, yet we are not separate from the Universe or from one another. The number ‘2’ represents this. From ‘one’ we get ‘two’. Those ‘two’ each contain all the qualities of the One from which they came. And, everything came from the Universe.

There is beauty in the number ‘2’ for without two we could not experience and learn about balance and harmony. It takes two to tango, the saying goes, and when we dance together, we demonstrate the synchronous joy of the Universe as One harmonious unit.

When I need to make kindling for starting a fire on a cold winter’s morning, each swing of the maul or the hatchet separates one piece of wood into two (okay, sometimes I need two swings to achieve separation, but that’s a topic for another day!). I repeat from each of those two and two becomes four, et cetera, until I have the size needed. Each piece retains the qualities of the first piece I split. And, that first piece has the qualities of the tree from which it came. And each piece has all the qualities of the Universe.

I take this back in time to the beginning of the tree from which the log came. At some point a seed separated itself from another tree and fell onto receptive ground. That seed held the potential to become a tree. Over time it did so, growing in receptive ground that likewise contains all the qualities of the Universe. Yet the soil and the tree are distinct manifestations, both necessary for the seed to fulfill its potential.

Eight is the number that represents manifestation. Viewed laying on its side, 8 is the symbol of infinity. From One, separation brings Two, an infinite cycle throughout all time and across everything in this wonderous Universe.

We are not separate from the Universe or from one another. You cannot separate yourself from the Universe period! You just cannot do that and nothing can. That is the Law, and that is how the Law operates. The premise is that you are not different from the Universe from which you are drawn. Gregge Tiffen (The Language of a Mystic: Polarities – February, 2009)

What is possible to manifest if we learn to live from knowing and understanding this basic Universal truth?

Favorite Old Tree — from a seed and with all the characteristics of the Universe

Me, You & The Times We Live In

Clouds Obscure the Beauty of the Peaks … What might be clouding beauty in your world today?

The psychology of the individual is reflected in the psychology of the nation. … Only a change in attitude of the individual can initiate a change in the psychology of the nation. Carl Jung (This Nonviolent Life: Daily Inspiration for Your Nonviolent Journey – February 11, 2020)

The Universe sees in you the harmonious co-operation as one of Its parts to the whole. … The Universe loves you enough to agree to your request to be here now. Gregge Tiffen (Fanned Fire and Forced Love Never Did Well – February, 2008)

There are times in life when I’m challenged to not loose heart, faith and to maintain perspective beyond whatever event I find myself experiencing or observing.  I’m guessing you too have experienced such times. I’m guessing as you look out at the world and bear witness to anger, greed, fear, and violence this may be one of those times.

In addition to what we observe in the world, events in our personal lives may throw us into doubt and fear. Events, both personal and global, are the stuff life is made of, ingredients of the learning opportunities we are gifted with on our journey.

Today, much is being said across all forms of media and around kitchen tables over cups of tea (or glasses of something stronger!) about this time in history. Many wring their hands and bemoan what they are witnessing. Others engage in various forms of activism. Some are victims. Others are perpetrators. Some feel outrage. Others are gleeful at the power they wield. Many are fearful of what’s to come in their personal lives and in the greater collective.

Jung’s quote reminded me of this as I found myself reacting to current events here in the United States. Our society, our country are reflections of us.

I think about this often when I observe events in the world beyond my quiet woods. I’m curious to observe my own thoughts which run the gamut from instinctive, angry reaction to a deep sense of peace that ‘this too shall pass’ (though I don’t believe this means that things will return to ‘normal’ or go back to some imagined ‘better time’). Life is after all an onward proposition.

I aim to quickly move through my reactions and look at events that perturb me from a higher perspective. I don’t want to contribute to the fear, anger and chaos that seem to reign in much of the media. We need quiet (and, yes, not so quiet) voices of understanding and peace.

As systems break down, we need to weave the fabric of new ones: systems that honor the truth that we are all one and that how each of us thinks, speaks and acts matters to the whole. Before we can weave, we must discover for ourselves threads of love and understanding, of connectedness. We must understand that we are separate parts of a whole that needs our highest and best – moment by moment, day by day. That is how change manifests: from inside each and every one of us to the highest and best expressions of ourselves in the world. This is our work first and foremost.

In a world and in times with demands and distractions from all directions, our work is not easy. It requires discipline, self-care (indeed our work is a form of self-care), commitment, and conviction. We are part of a greater whole that needs us to be our best selves. Our thoughts matter as much, perhaps more, than the words and deeds that follow.

It seems to me that this is important learning in and for these times. The school bus awaits. Will we climb aboard?

And after the clouds, clarity and beauty that was there all along.

Reliable Source

Blessed by the Beauty of Fresh Snow on the Peaks and a Colorado Blue Sky Day

With so much information pouring through media of all kinds, we need our minds to belong to us, not to external stimuli. Rev. Dr. Margaret Stortz (Daily Guide for January 26, 2020 in Science of Mind Guide for Spiritual Living)

One might add ‘and disinformation’ to the above quote. From time to time over many years I’ve wondered what sources were accurate and reliable as I sought to keep up with current events and be an informed citizen, voter. It’s troubling and sad how we’ve come to use technology to control rather than to inform. But that’s what those who, fearing the wisdom of the individual and the collective wisdom of the whole, seek: ‘power over’. And, they use whatever means are available.

It's to their (and there are many ‘thems’!) advantage that we stew in this uncertainty, wondering who and what we can trust. ‘Me!’ they each loudly proclaim. That’s the bad news.

The good news? The systems of business, government, etc. that we have built using this approach throughout human history are breaking down and falling apart under the weight of these unstainable ways. Ways that are unstainable because they defy universal law. And that law will prevail.

The even better news? There is a Reliable Source, one available 24/7, weekends and holidays included, without regard to any external conditions or circumstances. We only need to call upon and use it.

The more you feel the love issuing forth from Source, the more you are able to receive in your daily experience. Gregge Tiffen (Fanned Fire and Forced Love Never Did Well – February, 2008)

As I observe the countless breakdowns and crises across the globe, hear the cries for new systems, even make those cries myself, deep inside I know that no new system, no technology, no approach to these very real problems will work unless we have a giant shift in our collective consciousness. It is a shift that occurs one by one, step by step, building until a giant wave propels us forward collectively. Examples abound of individuals and collectives doing this work grounded in the love of Reliable Source.  

Somewhere and sometime along this road of life, it would be wise for each of us to stop and to go off alone for a period of time in order that we may give up beliefs in the power of the coin and the weapons of defense. Let us once again put our dependence on love to sustain us. Gregge Tiffen (The Numerology of Love – February, 2007)

In these times we need the confidence, creativity and conviction that comes with belief in and true love of oneself. Love that is deeply centered in the heart and comes from but one Reliable Source. That is how we make sure our mind belongs to us. That is the foundation for moving forward.

Ever grateful for the beauty that awaits when I step outside.

The Wisdom of Dog

Looking to the great beyond …

We humans should never forget our capacity to connect with the collective spirit of animals. Their energy is essential for our future growth. Shirley MacLaine (Dancing in the Light)

I think it’s no accident that the letters of God, when reversed spell Dog. Or, is that the letters of Dog, spell God? I’ve come understand and be grateful for them both as teachers. Perhaps Dog and God are one and the same.

Over these past six months since the amazing Cool Hand Luke Skywalker left his body to continue his journey in the spirit world, I’ve been inspired to explore the canine world and our human relationship to it more deeply. I’m curious about how we humans can be better partners with our canine friends. What do they teach us? How can we better learn? What are their needs? What brings them joy and satisfaction?

Inspired by the partnership that CHLS and I grew over almost 10 years, I wanted to know how I might be a better human partner when a new dog came into my life.

Along the path I’ve read books and watched videos by trainers, animal behaviorists, animal communicators and more. I participated in two amazing animal communication workshops. I learned a bit about the world of service dogs and how they are trained.

I stumbled across a book written by visionary thinker and human potential teacher, Jean Houston. In Mystical Dogs: Animals as Guides to Our Inner Life, Houston chronicles the lessons brought to her by a parade of dogs in her household over decades. I’ve explored the vast diversity in approaches to training – from (ugh!) old school obedience (‘I am the boss of you’) to the positive reinforcement approach in favor by many today. I’m no dog, but I’ll take treats over punishment any day and be much better for it.

Sitting quietly or on solo walks in the woods I often deeply feel Luke’s presence. When I’m open and curious I sense his energetic presence and guidance. He still comes when I call.  And, he appreciates when I speak of him in the present not the past. He knows that life is a continuum that does not end, but merely changes form or is sometimes formless. He’s free of the constraints of the body and tells me “I’m much more powerful here.”

I’m coming to appreciate how deeply intertwined our human potential is with that of our animal companions. Unlocking that potential requires a shift in our mindset from animals as mere pets or companions, to embracing them as wise partners on the journey of life.  I’m beyond blessed that having Luke in my life opened the door to this potential and that he continues to partner with me as the journey continues. 

And, I’m grateful that my heart was cracked open a couple weeks back when I met Sadie at a nearby animal shelter. We’re a pack of three, two of us in body, and Luke in spirit, learning, loving, and growing together.

My heart says that our animals need us for more than the care, feeding and shelter we provide. My heart says their wisdom can guide and support us in these chaotic, challenging, changing times. My heart wonders how I will rise to the potential of tapping into that wisdom. What about your heart?

Dear Human — I’m here to teach you to play!

Forgiveness: A Requirement for Resiliency and Peace

Snowy clouds obscure the mountains’ majesty as holding resentment obscures our own …

Forgiveness is more than a function, more than something we do or say to others (or to ourselves) after they (or we) have done something wrong. Forgiveness is an attitude of nonjudgmentalism, whereby we're always looking for the true self in another person, the spark of divinity, the best, the creative potential.  Joan Borysenko (Pace e Bene’s This Nonviolent Life: Daily Inspiration for Your Nonviolent Journey – January 22, 2020)

They caused the first wound, but you are causing the rest; this is what not forgiving does. They got it started, but you keep it going. Forgive and let go, or it will eat you alive. You think they made you feel this way, but when you won't forgive, you are the one inflicting pain on yourself. Bryant McGill (Pace e Bene’s This Nonviolent Life: Daily Inspiration for Your Nonviolent Journey – January 21, 2020)

Last week when I explored nurturing resiliency (here if you missed it) I didn’t see resiliency’s link to forgiveness. I invited readers to think of a challenge you’ve faced and to consider ‘in what ways was your resiliency hampered?’  Little did I know that the question would bring me straight to the importance of, indeed the requirement for, forgiveness as an element of resiliency.  

In fact, the connection didn’t occur to me until this morning as I was re-reading the two quotes above. When I first saw them, they resonated deeply.  I knew that this week’s musing would be built around them. What I didn’t know was how up close and personal that would prove to be.

Borysenko’s idea of forgiveness as an attitude not simply an act struck me first. It seems obvious upon considering. Like love, forgiveness is not something we do then check off our list. Forgiveness is a way of life, of being grounded in the non—judgmental understanding that everyone has their story, good and bad; we are all different, we are all the same. Unity. We are one. (Yes, even those who have ‘done us wrong’ and those whose views and behaviors we loathe.) Gulp! Such words are easy. Practicing them as a way of life is our challenge. It requires vigilance. In order to forgive we must let go of our need to be right. I have some work to do.

It was the quote from McGill that really got my attention (or should I say shook me from the inside out?).  I was invited to look at a resentment I’ve held for a while around a promise not kept (at least I thought a promise was made).  Beyond that personal event, I was invited to look at the many judgments I hold. Judgments about those who see their companion animals as pets to be controlled rather than as partners deserving respect and care. Judgments about some social media posts and those who make them. Judgments toward those who perpetuate violence upon the planet, to those whose political views and behavior I abhor, and beyond.

McGill’s words invited me to look at the cost - to me personally and to the greater whole of which I am a part.  I saw how failing to forgive wears me down, impacts my well-being, my resiliency, my peace. Whether as a conscious, intentional choice (as in ‘I’ll never forgive him, her, etc.”) or simply because we are unconscious of the opportunity before us, there is a high personal cost of holding on to our judgments. Indeed, not forgiving can be seen an act of violence against ourselves. I experienced one of those wonderful, yet excruciating and humbling ‘duh, but of course, ah-ha’ moments. Blessed be!

I have some work to do this week on my personal resiliency, my peace, indeed my health and well-being. It’s not just eating right, taking my vitamins, and physical exercise, it’s taking a deeper dive into what forgiveness means to me and how I will embrace it today, tomorrow, and beyond. Stay tuned!

Beyond the clouds … blue skies to come!

Nurturing Resiliency 2020

Sacred Beauty in the Sangres

Knowledge is strength. Strength is knowledge. … If you realize that your strength is in knowledge, which is your experience and the resiliency of your consciousness, no one can affect you. Not even the Universe can diminish that one whit.  Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Mystical Longings)

As it did three years ago when we here in the U.S. were in the midst of a new, chaotic presidential administration, the muse takes me to revisit personal resilience, the resilience of consciousness. As I look out at the chaos and discord in the world systems of man and the dramatic reactions of mother nature, nurturing resiliency might be a worthy priority for each of us.

We must each choose whether and how to observe, to engage, and to act in these times. As such, resiliency, defined as the ability to recover readily from illness, adversity or the like, seems worthy to consider in the face of the discord and challenges that are growing in worldwide. How do we build our personal resiliency?

Resiliency is not nurtured by hibernation or closing yourself off from the world (as appealing as that idea sounds some days!).

Resiliency is nurtured when we seek knowledge, in particular knowledge about how life works. This includes both the laws of the jungle, life ‘out there’ as the world defines and dictates, and Universal law, life - up close and personal, you to you and you to the Universe.  We learn a great deal through our participation in the world: relationships, business, politics, finance, health, etc.  We learn through observation, awareness and experience.  We learn when we succeed as well as when things don’t go as we wanted them to.

The lens through which we view life is a key factor in our capacity to ‘bounce back’ as well as to be strong in the face of any challenge.  Think of the stories of the people who face medical challenges, of those who survived concentration camps, of those who lose a loved one to violence only to bounce back and turn the tragedy into a positive movement. We see this today worldwide in movements of non-violence (check out Non-Violence News here - https://nonviolence.com/news/), climate action, and even in some of the drama of presidential campaigns. We see it as well in personal acts of caring, service, warm smiles to strangers.

This is a time to build personal resiliency. As you reflect on your own resiliency, think of a particular challenge that you’ve faced in life.  In what ways were you resilient? In what ways was your resiliency hampered? What did you learn that built your resiliency for future challenges?  What are you curious to learn now?

The Ziggurat - Stairway to Heaven

Animals, Integrity and Humility

A Small Bird Visits for An Early Morning Feast

All animals on this planet help forge a living energy chain, tying together the power of Nature to the manifestation of life. From the lowliest ant to the largest mammal, Earth animals support our human existence. They are the conduits through which vital Earth energy passes. Gregge Tiffen (It’s Springtime: Flow with the Power of Nature­ – April, 2007)

As the new year dawned, an event occurred that required me to a make a choice about whether to save (or at least attempt to) an animal. Thus, this week’s muse doesn’t take me to the land of goals and commitment and action in the way that an early January post typically does.

The small animal, possibly a bird, a mouse or another species of small critter, had somehow found its way into an interior wall of the house. The fluttering and thumping sounds indicated that it was desperately trying to find its way back to the point of entry (a point I have yet to find).

A friend was visiting at the time. We prayed, calling on Spirit and other nature beings to bring energetic support and help the critter escape. If this being couldn’t find the way out, the only possibility for rescue was cutting a hole in the wall near the sound and hoping the poor creature could get to that opening where we would be waiting with a box to relocate it back to the woods.

The wall contains numerous electrical boxes and wires, so cutting required tools and experience that I don’t have.  I needed the help of someone more skilled than I but calls to friends and helpers on my list turned up empty.  In hindsight, that’s no surprise as I was torn. I wanted to save the animal, yet I wondered whether the expense of cutting a hole then repairing it was worth it. Especially with no guarantee that the creature would survive.

In the end, I made the choice to abandon an attempted rescue. In doing so, I find myself humbled by facing the reality, once again, that my love of nature and the animal kingdom has limits. As millions (half a billion at the last count I heard) of creatures are dying and more threatened by the bush fires in Australia, did I fail to take an action that might have made a difference in the delicate chain that is life on our planet? Everything matters you know.

Did I compromise my integrity in the choice that I made? What does ‘worth it’ even mean? If as Gandhi once said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated,” how did I measure up in this instance?  While I won’t beat myself up over my choice or these questions, they are worthy of exploration.

The event was a powerful reminder that everything matters. No event (and no creature) is too small to not teach me something. Now, it’s up to me to decide how I will use and apply that learning.

Before the snow …