Let's Go Wild

#67 25 August 2024 Being natural

   I remember this occasionally, and it fills my heart with a sense of deep connection to all life. It was 2008 and I had read something that morning about the annual Monarch butterfly migration passing through the San Francisco Bay Area, where I lived at the time. I worked in a small office on the second floor of a building in a shopping center. The space itself was about 120 feet long and 30 feet wide; a hallway divided the space, with an entryway and six rooms (three on either side of the hall). My room was at the end of the hall, the only office with a window and the one furthest from the door.

   I got up from my desk and walked past the window, to go to the entryway and greet a client. Out of the corner of my eye, sitting in a corner of the windowsill, I saw a Monarch. My very first thought was, ‘Oh beautiful, you will die if you stay here.’ I reached out with my forefinger, sliding it slowly along the sill towards the butterfly…it didn’t move, until it was close enough that it could step up onto my fingertip. I turned and carried it on my finger all the way through the office, past my client (amazed!) and out to the walkway just outside the door. As I moved my hand over the railing, the creature took flight and was gone in a moment. Another life saved.

   That ability to communicate with ‘dumb animals’ is just another skill we have been completely discouraged from developing by Modern culture. The wisdom to recognize, and be grateful for, moments of synchronicity is another; I dare to say that nothing – nothing – happens for no reason. Every event, act, experience, is perfect; as in, could not be any other way, because the energy of the moment is what it is. While we may fancy ‘creating’ our reality, IMO we can influence the energy of the moment with intention, sound, touch, and importantly the story we tell ourselves about what is happening; but a radical departure from what-is is not possible. We mold the future by our actions (and stories) now. But we are also experiencing what others nearby are manifesting with their own behavior and words. Don’t forget that much of what we ‘create’ comes from un- or sub-conscious drives and desires, usually formed from events or teachings we don’t even remember. Some even say that we bring them into this embodiment as part of our contract or purpose for this lifetime.

   Another aspect of the subtle, powerful nature of connection comes from the Indigenous peoples around the world, the Wild, and their view as embodied by shamans and healers. They didn’t walk through the forest or jungle and ‘taste test’ every plant, seeking healing abilities. Rather, they held a non-verbal yet potent conversation with the energy of the plant, animal, or mineral. In this conversation they learn what to do for healing, and how to help prevent ‘illness’, in not only individuals but whole communities. They learn the appropriate gift in return; how humans can support the continuation of the energy that we call ‘that walnut tree’ or ‘that beaver’, as well as their community (which we call ‘ the ecosystem’). To the Modern mind, this is ludicrous. Modern already calls them ‘resources’; there for the taking, without life, mind or purpose, and certainly without consciousness of any degree whatsoever. Wild knows different. Wild knows there are energies we can’t see or hear directly, that can still help us in our quests.

   I began this essay with mention of the first time I truly became aware of inter-species communication in my own life. Butterflies have become a powerful ally in my protection and understanding of this human life. Just by knowing the transformation butterflies endure, from a caterpillar with no clue what lies beyond its death, to the magnificent, delicate creature that takes wing from its cocoon, they are a key metaphor for what we as humans are capable of. Please open you heart to the other forms of life that surround us, and give them a chance to put an idea in your head.

   So how does this actually happen, in your busy real life? I offer what’s often called a ‘sit spot’.

Find a place in Nature where you can easily spend at least a few minutes, ideally 30, every day. It may be at the base of a favorite tree, in your garden, at a nearby park…anywhere where you can comfortably sit, relax, and focus on a plant or animal each and every day for at least a year. See it through all the seasons, at different times of day, in all types of weather. As you begin, take a few deep and conscious breaths. This helps to bring your awareness to your body and opens the mind-body-heart channels. Then begin to focus on the single plant you always have a conversation with. Feel free to observe what has changed from before: taller, stronger (or not), new growth, and most importantly, the plant’s energy. Is it happy, sad, excited, sleepy…if you are receptive, you will feel these characteristics in your own body. A vision might come into your mind. An answer to something that has bothered you recently might appear in your thoughts. You might find your gaze directed to a different plant due to some amount of intention from the one you regularly work with; the other might be brilliant today, or its leaves waving at you in a particular fashion. What might it mean, this effort at voiceless speech? Put yourself in the ‘roots’ of the plant; feel the wind flex your stalk or branches, feel your leaves tickled by the passing air. Ask your friend what you might do to help it; maybe bring water tomorrow? The more you do this practice, the easier it becomes to converse.

   Here’s another set of ideas:

   "Drink water from the spring where horses drink, the horse will never drink bad water. Lay your bed where the cat sleeps. Eat the fruit that has been touched by a worm.

   Boldly pick the mushroom on which the insects sit. Plant the tree where the mole digs.

   Build your house where the snake sits to warm itself. Dig your fountain where the birds hide from heat.

   Go to sleep and wake up at the same time with the birds- you will reap all of the days golden grains. Eat more green- you will have strong legs and a resistant heart, like the beings of the forest. Swim often and you will feel on earth like the fish in the water. Look at the sky as often as possible and your thoughts will become light and clear.

   Be quiet a lot, speak little- and silence will come in your heart, and your spirit will be calm and full of peace."

   Nature is talking to you, are you listening?”

   This is how ‘we’ used to live; in constant conversation with our relatives throughout Nature. Before I close, let me offer one other way of creating this communion that focuses on we humans. Imagine a world, a culture, where this is the norm: A couple decides to have a baby. They wait, listening, until they hear their child’s song. They sing it together, until they know it by heart. They sing as they make love, and give life to their child. When pregnant Mom feels sad or disturbed, she sings the song to baby. As birth nears, the couple teaches their child’s song to the rest of the community. When the day comes, neighbors gather and sing the song together while Mom gives birth to the new community member. Anytime the child has difficulty while growing into adulthood, the community members sing the song to quiet and calm him or her. Of course this sharing, this respect, continues until after the person’s death, where the song is sung for the last time as the community mourns their passing. I am often asked what the Wild life would look like; let this be a shining example of caring for each other in each one’s unique way. Let’s Go Wild

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