Nature’s Netflix has been showing in my backyard. One morning mallard visitors waddled down the gravel path, fuzzy ducklings in tow while I peeked out the window. I rooted for a tiny junco that had fallen from it’s nest as it was tended to on the ground by anxious parents. Skittish herons drop by spooked by our tiniest movement.
But what really captured me was some serious owl and raven drama in several episodes. I have become smitten by the almost nightly call of owls. Such magical, ethereal sounds to drift off to sleep to. It wasn’t until some ravens appeared one Sunday morning that I realized the owls were nesting in a giant fir in the back of our property.
As I sipped my coffee it quickly became obvious that 3 ravens, chatting back and forth were carefully plotting a nest raid. They approached the nest from all sides, dangerously close at times. One of the owls flew defence, diving and diverting, chasing the ravens while the nest sitter would take a swat with it’s giant wing when the ravens got too close.
It didn’t take a hot minute for me to pick sides. The ravens were brazen nest raiders, boldly plotting their mission; mischievous thieves. I walked the gravel path to the back of the yard to see if I might scare them off. I might even have tried out my raven vocabulary. But the ravens were persistent and I wasn’t note worthy, tiny human on the ground below. I worried about the owls who I felt a strong connection to. The skirmishes played several times with no clear winner.
Next morning while I was doing my qi gong and hearing raven voices, it came to me; it does no one any good to worry and see the owls as needing help and protection that I am clearly unable to provide. It struck me that I needed to change my story, for my own good and for the owls. I thought to myself, these are big fierce birds, hunters, that have strong beaks and formidable claws. They know how to look after themselves. I needed to see them as capable and able, not victims needing my protection.
And I thought of how helpful that same stance would be when we think of the people in our lives we want to help and protect: our children, grandchildren, parents, friends. Instead of thinking we need to rush in to save them we can think of them as strong, smart and capable. That doesn’t mean we won’t offer help at some point but it will be from that position of seeing them as able, capable creators.
And then I pulled that circle back in to include myself. How often do I see myself flawed and vulnerable and not having the internal resources to meet circumstances in my life. Especially in this strange world we find ourselves in, something we have never been prepared for with all it’s unknowns. Maybe it’s time to flip my story and see myself as capable of meeting whatever comes my way, to remind myself on a daily basis of my strengths, to acknowledge my accomplishments. And most of all to tell myself that I am up for the job, whatever it is. And I know I can cast the net wide, that we all have places where our story doesn’t serve us, where a little edit or rewrite might change how we think about ourselves and in turn how we act and how our future stories unfold.
On the art front a new series is gaining momentum in the studio. The photo at the top is a small taste of the new work. Come join me on instagram for further glimpses of work in progress and any animal shenanigans that may unfold in my backyard. Sign up below to receive blog posts directly and receive early info on new releases and promotions.
