The Wisdom of Squirrels

A polar vortex hit after my last post, and I've been holed up in my house and in my mind, like a squirrel safe in its tree.  No matter what life throws at me though, I look to nature for solace.  Every.  Time.  I force myself to go out and just observe and feel, and support always comes, even if I don't get any answers.   

Nature's silence ​returns me to a calmer baseline.

From that calmer place, I am now a witness to my thoughts, instead of trying to juggle them all and make sense of them.  Like nature, we are in this life for the long haul, and I'm reminded that I don't need all the answers today.  Like Anna in Frozen, I just need to take the next right step.

During this nearly unbearable vortex of cold weather that shut everything down for days, I slowed down and started noticing what was showing up in my life.  One light in the dark was a phrase in my inbox: “If you want a reminder of what’s important, ask the squirrels!” this link lead me to an article that reminded me to just turn my brain off and listen.  "(nature) will gladly remind you that your anxiety and outrage aren't helping you stay present."  Again, nature returns us to a more neutral baseline.

I ran across squirrels several more times that week.  From the ones under my bird feeder outside, to chapter books I read with my son, to a new movie on Disney+, squirrels all around me were reminding me of the cycle of life.  That this moment is temporary, and we should enjoy it and appreciate it.  Find it's strength and its lesson it has to teach, if only we listen. 

Squirrels of course are also practical, and teach us to prepare for a rainy day and work hard for our future.  You never know which acorn we plant will actually turn into a tree and bring us the abundance we seek.

So my mind continues to be a bit scattered, and I feel like I'm holding too many acorns, but I'm slowly saving them and planting them, observing, and preparing for what life brings next.
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“Like any natural born cynic, I say do not hope, observe.  Because when you do, you’ll see how much wonder the world actually has.  And you won’t be a cynic any more.”
​- Flora & Ulysses on Disney+