One of the things that I find to be a perpetual journey in this modern world is finding ways to live in balance. Balance between external focus and inner work, balance between the human world and nature, balance between the desires of the mind and the calling of the heart. I feel so blessed to live in a beautiful place surrounded by pristine nature, with hummingbirds and deer as my daily companions. After more than two decades of city life, our Sanctuary home is truly an elixir for the soul. As I go deeper into living in harmony with nature, I am finding that messages come to me from my environment almost constantly. Yesterday, as I was returning home, I was shocked to see a flurry of brown and white feathers in the road. Receiving the strong call to stop, I blocked the lane, and went over to the creature – a stunningly beautiful barred owl, clearly just hit by a passing car. I was filled with heartache as I scooped her up and brought her to our land to honor and bury. Indeed, in the rush of living in our human-centric western world, we struggle to stay present with anything more than our own immediate desires, and in the process, we have caused immense harm to the rest of the living world. Brought into deep introspection by my owl friend, I began to contemplate what is truly needed for shift to happen in this world.
I could feel the owl’s presence with me, giving me the gifts of her insight. RESPECT. This is what must re-emerge in order for this planet to heal. Humans must remember what it is to be only one part of the whole of the livingness that is Pachamama, not the dominant species believing itself better than, higher than, or more important than the rest of life. I know in my heart that there is a great calling among those of us on the awakening path to return to living in respect, balance, and harmony. When we take our heart’s great intentions deeper, and declare our willingness to be responsible for Pachamama as committed stewards for all Life, and when we commit also to transform the parts of ourselves that are not in alignment with that, we truly become the way-showers and healers of this time.
