Have you ever heard of The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams? It’s a beautiful 1970ies series about a man who fled to the wilderness after being accused for something he never did. Being left on his own, with his newly found buddy grizzly bear Ben, he discovered his affection for wildlife, a deeper connection to nature and learned to find his ways in the wild. Adams, ends up having an adventure of a lifetime. Through many struggles he found his peace, freedom, and happiness in harmony with nature within and nature outside.
Sleep, sleep peacefully, my precious child.
I hold you and you hold me.
We have a sacred bond,
you and me.
The loving force that wraps us in our sweet embrace
is held by the universe itself. There’s nothing to be done.
Simply
lean in and surrender.
Can you hear the hum? Shhh, listen… Open your heart and tune in to the all-pervading universal silent song, the rhythm of your breath – moving in moving out, expanding and contracting. Giving and receiving – the very best you can. Imagine you are part of the great cosmic dance.
Now imagine a tree of two merging trunks, roots below the ground, all intertwined. Above the ground, two very distinct halves of both trees grown together as one, branching out towards the sky. An anomaly? Perhaps not.
Many things we assume as anomalies happen in nature quite often. Nature is continuously reinventing itself. Exploring new ways, testing new forms. Where some fail, others succeed. Nature is daring, it’s continuously looking for new expressions, permutations, variations, bifurcations. Success no one can deny, for it has survived and thrived for billions of years and it’s still going as strong and fresh as ever.
The part of us, we call the Self or the soul is also a part of nature. This part of us cannot exist without its form – the form of the Self is accommodated for us by nature. The Self is the center of every form, it represents the form. It dwells inside – it is the seed of creation, of new life. When you observe nature, you notice the Self being expressed in in numerous shapes and forms. The Self always represents the core – the core of your heart (cor; Latin noun, meaning heart). Each of us begins a journey as that core of a seed.
Follow the rhythm that permeates this reality. Expansion, contraction – just like
your breathing – you breathe in and you breathe out. Your chest expands as you inhale, it contracts as you exhale. If you observe it carefully, you will notice there’s a similar pattern in nature – continuity of infinite ebbing and flowing of the whole existence, as if responding to silent music. The whole existence appears to be dancing in perfect harmony.
I call it the music of the universe. It moves in a very particular, harmonious rhythm. Going in, going out, rising – falling, beginning and ending. Life is in a continuous spiraling flow. For example – in appears in a form of water – raindrops fall, they get soaked by the earth. Grounds receive the water – earth expands. Comes dry season, water evaporates, returning back into the sky, morphing into cloud formations. What’s true for me – is that I am part of the Earth as I continue to contract and expand.
If the earth grounds are covered with woodland, you will notice how trees have the ability to capture the water, stopping it from evaporating. The water is absorbed by the tree roots, it gets pulled up the tree trunk by every branch, blossom, leaf and fruit of that tree. Seasons change – comes autumn and leaves drop, they dry away, water returns to the air, some gets soaked by the ground. During winter, when temperatures fall below the freezing point, the tree pulls its sap down, back to its roots, below the freezing point. When the water freezes in the ground, it expands through ice; comes spring it melts, it starts to flow again.
If you pause for a while and observe carefully, you will notice this flow, this beautiful pattern occurs all around us. Nature is as much within us as it is outside.
I think human beings are the most intricate part of nature; like the most radiant jewel in the crown. Even our memories seem to follow the same perpetual flow. We remember and we forget. You cannot blame yourself for that, because we all have an extra special gift so we can remind ourselves again and remember that we too are part of nature.
Our memories are stored in each cell of our body. Regardless of how far we have come or how disconnected we became. In fact, we can never get too far away. Our eyes open and close – they follow the same rhythm; we can all see and we can all feel. Our beautiful breaths, they are always in tune with the universal song of silence. Our cores, our heartbeats are drumming the same rhythm at least 100,000 times a day.
Next time when you catch yourself saying that you are out of tune, think twice. Could you possibly exist if that was true? Even the rock that appears static for the duration of our short but gloriously life span is continuously expanding and contracting, eventually becoming dust, so it can merge with the earth again.
The glacial rock dust carries millennia old imprints of time. It contains minerals and essential plant nutrients that dissolve into water and feed the roots of the trees, so the fruit of the tree gets all the required food and goodness to nourish you and me. Next time you bite into the apple, you will remember the incredible journey of that fruit. You will realize how precious the apple you are holding in your hands is – universe itself coming to greet you, by expanding and contracting.
A tree grows from the seed; it produces the fruit that contains the seed information of its mother tree. The journey, the song, the dance of a tree becomes the fruit that feeds you, so you can carry on dancing, appreciating life in all its forms, loving, caring, giving, receiving, supporting each other on this journey we all share. Always remember your ubiquitous source!
What a journey of self-discovery, I say!? All it takes is a simple bite of a scrumptiously delicious apple and it’s all there. The wisdom of the ages in one apple on the palm of your hand. Who on Earth could ever cook up a story of forbidden fruit – that one still bakes my noodles. Or, perhaps it is forbidden because it holds the key to unlock the mystery of who you truly are. Reminding you, that you too are the most beautiful, unique expression of the Self. Yes, that makes sense. The forbidden fruit of ignorance – but only if you never bite.
Remember, everything happens between the moment you take your first inhale and the moment of your very last exhale. In-between those two defining moments are billions of breaths that you take, there are billions of moments for you to define who you truly are. Imagine the span of possibilities. Make the best use of the time that is given to you, life is the most precious gift you can get.
Breathe in and breath out, always remember the flow – notice the rhythm and keep on listening and dancing to the music that holds it all together.
Wear the sun in your heart,
and when you get tired,
let the rain tend to your soul.
