“Once the soul awakens, the search begins and you can never go back. From then on, you are inflamed with a special longing that will never again let you linger in the low- lands of complacency and partial fulfillment. The eternal makes you urgent. You are loath to let compromise or the threat of danger hold you back from striving toward the summit of fulfillment.”
John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
“Anything you do from the soulful self will help lighten the burdens of the world. Anything. You have no idea what the smallest word, the tiniest generosity can cause to be set in motion. Be outrageous in forgiving. Be dramatic in reconciling. Be off the charts in kindness. Mastery is in increments, not in leaps. Be brave, be fierce, be visionary. To live this way is the most dramatic gift you can ever give to the world. Consider yourselves assigned.” Clarissa Pinkola Estés
On this very cold February morning, the most notable thing is the birds outside. They seem to be very active and vocal. Some smaller species are especially noisy while chattering to all of the other birds flying around. This may be the way they keep warm. And winter or not, they have to eat, but what I can’t imagine.
One of the things I have noticed living in Oklahoma is that the flying insects are huge. I have taken to calling them “flying livestock.” But in the winter, it seems that they have almost disappeared. So, what are the birds eating at this time of the year? I can only hope that they are cleaning up the insects that are left over from summer.
The two quotes above have captured my attention. There are times when I really want to say, “Stop! Let me off this dizzy machine!” There are times when I really want to go back to innocent bliss and crazy - where I can blame everyone else for what is going wrong in my life. That was so much easier.
Now, all I can do is introspection. Sometimes even having to contemplate the introspection. And really having to take a look at my pusillanimous behavior. It is not always easy nor is it fun to see some of my other character defects.
Once I build up my courage to see what is really there, there always seems to be the solution right next to it. I love how this opens up new avenues of being and it always seems to be huge steps forward in consciousness.
It seems to me that the birds are always fierce, brave and visionary. They go in spite of the seeming pitfalls. And in all kinds of weather! Oh, to be more like them in spirit!
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