Hoots, Howls, and Hollers 01/17/2011

Things have been so busy both at Liberty Wildlife and in my own life…just lots going on. It made me start thinking about busy-ness in general. We all set goals…in physical training, in a professional direction, in personal relationships. All of these goals require reaching milestones to move in a positive direction….bottom line is we are always on the “go”…..moving and striving relentlessly…afraid to stop for fear we’ll never get going again. It becomes in vogue to be the busiest person you know. And, then it becomes a habit. Then it becomes deadly. Does this sound familiar?

I do know some people who are just pros at separating the rewards of accomplishments with the more subtle rewards of being still. It is those rewards that I want to learn to concentrate on. I am best at being still when I am in nature….not competing, not adding to my list, not doing anything…just being. It is in those rare moments that I notice the flitter of a tiny gray bird, then another. If I am really still I can pick up the sounds they make, the patterns of their feathers, their interactions, their ways of moving. It is as if nothing separates me from the experience…there is no gauze between me and them…crystal clear and inspiring……..

In moments of stillness the “nature spirits” speak to me…ok, that sounds weird, but if you have been there you know what I am talking about. Those unseen spirits move your eyes to catch a change of light or the absence of it that indicates a silent movement…a bobcat negotiating through the bush, a coyote paralleling you along the trail, a spotted owl, observing you from a hidden perch, one eye opening at a time. These are examples of magical moments, all of them, that would have been wasted if I had been too busy to allow myself to be moved by the “nature spirits”, my muses of sorts. How much do I miss when I am busy?

I think it is moments of stillness that inspire a poem or a painting, light the fire under a budding novel, give birth to a brilliant idea, solve an annoying problem. I would like to invite you, if you don’t already do this, to find a space in your life to be still and to learn to reap the rewards. They can be valuable beyond your wildest dreams.