Starlings In Winter

1/27/2024

Nature offers so many noble gifts of wonderment, joy, and beauty. In order to enjoy and appreciate these noble and wonderful gifts we need to be silent as Mary Oliver says " In order to be light and frolicsome" we need "only the silent confirmation." Reading these words "the silent confirmation" reminds me of the Taoist path of silence. Once Laotzu, the author of Taoism, was walking with his friend silently deeply enjoying the gifts of nature, birds welcoming the rising sun and the sky displaying wonderful colors, his companion uttered " Vow! What a beautiful sight!". Lao Tzu asked him to witness the beauty of nature without uttering a word.
When my wife passed away, I felt deep grief and sadness. Remaining silent helped me to go through the grieving process, the "dark night of the soul." I have also enjoyed the bright rays of the sun and the thick darkness of the night. I have learnt to go with the flow of life without resistance. When I have resisted the flow of life I have suffered more. Mindfulness of what's happening inside and letting it come and go helps me relate to the phenomenal world freely without any bondage.
Namaste!

2 Comments

Maria

1/27/2024 09:52:54 am

“I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.”
This phrase resonated with me because fear has been the reason I don’t experience love. I know in my nature that I can do more, feel more, connect more with others, and yet I allow the fear to persist. It has limited me and now that I realize it. I can work on being still and remember I have wings. My true nature is to love. Thank for sharing every week.

Debbie Podwika

1/27/2024 03:51:05 pm

I love being in nature. I agree we get so many benefits from nature, physiological emotional and spiritual. Getting out in nature and getting some Shinrin Yoku (Forest Bathing) increases our well-being and our happiness. It decreases our blood pressure and heart rate and cortisol and then our stress , anxiety and depression decreased. The Phytoncides from trees increases our natural killer cells and decreases our inflammation. Our fatigued frontal lobe gets a break and our memory improves and our attention increases and we get to experience Awe. Then with all these physiological effects helping us, they allows us to connect with ourselves and nature, become more self-aware and renew which improves our self-esteem and our mood. At that point then we can get the true lessons from nature because we actually noticed little things like the starling or a ladybug or lichen and can get the lessons nature has to offer us.

Mindfulness

Starlings In Winter

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