Thursday, June 28, 2007 at 2:02am
Running wild
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Today I made a mistake. Granted, I make lots of mistakes, but this one I want to talk about with you. Our backyard has the tendency to run wild. Sometimes I try to tame it. Sometimes I'll get inspired about cutting down all of the weeds so that the yard can have a more "civilized" look. It's a big job.
These weeds have been growing wild for more than 40 years, so getting at the root of the matter (no pun intended) is difficult. Kind of like breaking a habit one has had for years. Or was it? It seems that this time I went too far.
While I was hacking away, without my noticing, a cardinal was making a racket over my head. It wasn't until I saw the nest in the branch I had just lopped off that I realized my mistake. Oh my! Here was the mama telling me that my being neat and orderly had just ruined her life — and the life of her soon-to-be little ones.
You can imagine how hard I labored to rebuild that thicket of vines and branches to hold mama and nest. No matter the inch-long locust thorns or the blackberry brambles I had to work with. I sat hidden, watching for a good half-hour, until the agitated mother calmed down enough to relocate the nest and venture to nestle down again.
That gave me lots of time for thinking. Sometimes it's not only OK — it's preferable to run wild. Wild does not mean with no regard or compassion. Running wild, as we see in nature, is the ability to work within a set of limitations by using all your resources. We find the answers by seeing beyond our own limitations and utilizing the strengths and insights of those around us.
That is when we are faced with the choice of living with the status quo or deciding to make a difference. Like the butterfly, we must shed the cocoon that limits our horizons and take advantage of each day of life that allows us to be outrageous!
Like the shark who has learned how to take a bite out of life and regrow all its teeth; like the giraffe who said, "I know I can reach just a little bit farther and get more to eat," inducing long necks, the evolutionary spiral jumps to a higher level when we give up looking at things the same way day after day.
Old problems need new solutions to be resolved. Even if it's only to get us to sit up and take notice, being outrageous generates innovative opportunities for growth and change. It's what happens when the seed that had been sitting on hard rock unexpectedly gets blown onto fertile soil. It's what happens in my backyard every spring — suddenly there is a riotous outbreak of creativity, seemingly overnight.
That's not to imply that some discipline isn't needed. As it is said, form follows function, and there are laws and principles through which the world has evolved. However, applying a purpose and direction to our discipline allows for a freedom of creativity that is often overlooked when we try to just follow those laws. A spontaneous intuition makes the skillful builder an innovative one.
The mama cardinal is settling down now, little realizing the philosophizing she provoked. Mother Nature is quite some teacher. Being innovative, she can look into the purpose and being of each one of her creations with commitment and compassion. Being outrageous, she allows each unique being to work in harmony and openness with all others, resulting in this amazingly wild and wonderful world.
— — —
Anne E. Ulvestad is a free-lance writer residing in Maryland. She has her masters in earth literacy, and is available for public lectures and group presentations and rituals on Spirituality and the Environment. Anne can be reached at {email anne@ourplaceintheuniverse.com}anne@ourplaceintheuniverse.com{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Anne E. Ulvestad.
These weeds have been growing wild for more than 40 years, so getting at the root of the matter (no pun intended) is difficult. Kind of like breaking a habit one has had for years. Or was it? It seems that this time I went too far.
While I was hacking away, without my noticing, a cardinal was making a racket over my head. It wasn't until I saw the nest in the branch I had just lopped off that I realized my mistake. Oh my! Here was the mama telling me that my being neat and orderly had just ruined her life — and the life of her soon-to-be little ones.
You can imagine how hard I labored to rebuild that thicket of vines and branches to hold mama and nest. No matter the inch-long locust thorns or the blackberry brambles I had to work with. I sat hidden, watching for a good half-hour, until the agitated mother calmed down enough to relocate the nest and venture to nestle down again.
That gave me lots of time for thinking. Sometimes it's not only OK — it's preferable to run wild. Wild does not mean with no regard or compassion. Running wild, as we see in nature, is the ability to work within a set of limitations by using all your resources. We find the answers by seeing beyond our own limitations and utilizing the strengths and insights of those around us.
That is when we are faced with the choice of living with the status quo or deciding to make a difference. Like the butterfly, we must shed the cocoon that limits our horizons and take advantage of each day of life that allows us to be outrageous!
Like the shark who has learned how to take a bite out of life and regrow all its teeth; like the giraffe who said, "I know I can reach just a little bit farther and get more to eat," inducing long necks, the evolutionary spiral jumps to a higher level when we give up looking at things the same way day after day.
Old problems need new solutions to be resolved. Even if it's only to get us to sit up and take notice, being outrageous generates innovative opportunities for growth and change. It's what happens when the seed that had been sitting on hard rock unexpectedly gets blown onto fertile soil. It's what happens in my backyard every spring — suddenly there is a riotous outbreak of creativity, seemingly overnight.
That's not to imply that some discipline isn't needed. As it is said, form follows function, and there are laws and principles through which the world has evolved. However, applying a purpose and direction to our discipline allows for a freedom of creativity that is often overlooked when we try to just follow those laws. A spontaneous intuition makes the skillful builder an innovative one.
The mama cardinal is settling down now, little realizing the philosophizing she provoked. Mother Nature is quite some teacher. Being innovative, she can look into the purpose and being of each one of her creations with commitment and compassion. Being outrageous, she allows each unique being to work in harmony and openness with all others, resulting in this amazingly wild and wonderful world.
— — —
Anne E. Ulvestad is a free-lance writer residing in Maryland. She has her masters in earth literacy, and is available for public lectures and group presentations and rituals on Spirituality and the Environment. Anne can be reached at {email anne@ourplaceintheuniverse.com}anne@ourplaceintheuniverse.com{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Anne E. Ulvestad.