than the risk it took to blossom.” ~Anais Nin
Outside the cage, we look in all directions for some model of peace and sanity, of grounded authenticity that is applauded or at least accepted and supported by the world. We sense the corruption that invades our political and economic world, and a social ineptitude that has infiltrated so many neighborhoods and institutions. We are left feeling alone and helpless to make change, longing to again trust in the heart of the people.
The tension in the world is tangible and many are nearing (or in) the breaking point.
As we approach this sense of breaking down, breaking apart, crumbling…our instinct is to hold on, hold out, hold in, hold Hold HOLD HOLD….
And yet…what if the opposite might actually be the most viable option. It is counter-intuitive for many, and certainly not what we’ve most often been shown in the human world, but if we look to Nature, we see a demonstration of another option. Though some amount of holding is inherent, I see it more as a patient trust in a process that is as ancient as life itself. A timely waiting for the breaking OUT…the breaking OPEN…the breaking into change!
At this time of year in particular, ‘breaking’ is rampant in our Spring filled world…it is the essential ingredient in new life and in bringing our new selves into the visible world. Every seed coat must be broken out of in order that the radicle root can dive down for nourishment and anchoring and the new sprout climb out of the dark soil into the food of light. Every tiny bird must trust it’s beak to chip away from it’s confining shell to break open into the world of it’s mother and the air of possibility where flight is an option. Every bud encased flower and leaf frond, must grow large enough to crack open that shell and open with all it’s beauty to the waiting world.
For most of us the process is not so different for us, though out minds may have a lot to say about how it is different. Consider for a moment that these ancient wild ways of life are our teachers and are always here, offering ways of change. They demonstrate over and over that this tension and experience of confinement can, if we let it, lead us to a freedom in the breaking. Our hearts break open, when we trust the process. Light comes in and helps us to see the truths of our (often self constructed) cages and we realize that new possibility lies in the most unexpected places.
You are a natural being…your process is not so different from the baby bird’s…is there something in your world that you must break out of? Even if you don’t know what it will look like on the other side of the shell? Our authentic hearts want breathing space and need to be seen. The world invites us in countless ways to come out, to break free, to let go and allow our genuine hearts to be known.