"A Walk in the Marshes" © 2010 ~ watercolor by Carol E. Fairbanks

"Being love, rather than giving or taking love, is the only thing that provides stability."

                                                                                ~  Ram Dass

                            Looking for Solid Ground

"Watching Change" © ~ crayon by Carol E Fairbanks

When you have lived as long as I have and have observed the inevitable sweeping changes of life, it is comforting to contemplate the Zen saying that says, "Life is change - change is stability."  Over and over, I am continually reinventing my perception of who I am, as those life experiences reveal more about my true self. As these revelations unfold, the negative beliefs, that cloud and block the good I seek,  also fall away, like leaves on an autumn tree. My life becomes more aligned with that natural flow of goodness and love, that is always available to everyone.

So, there is constant change and movement in our lives, because there is always more to be revealed. Our learning is not a destination, but rather it is a journey..... a path of opportunities for growing beyond the perceived limitations that cause us suffering and pain. The purpose of our soul self  is to guide us to that foundation of knowing that aligns us with the very nature of the Divine. At that place, we become the love we seek. We become all the good things that seem to elude us in the midst of our struggle.  Suddenly, the opportunities that we seek are at our doorstep offering their blessings.

But since there might be rocks on our path in getting to that place of alignment, we can become discouraged and yield to heavy feelings of defeat. Inspiration is needed to stay open to our truth and not allow the lies of the appearances in our life to become our belief system.  Seeking a solid ground of true knowledge that will support us in our evolution of becoming is our best focus. This will help us find ways of wading through our stagnant emotions toward the open air where the ideas of goodness are fresh and moving.

The world was created with everything we need for that hero's journey, and we can make use of that guidance by using ancient indigenous wisdom.  Ted Andrews, in his book, Animal Speak, tells us of the lessons of stability that are offered by the heron.  Its long legs, that allow it to wade and hunt in deeper water, mirror back to us our ability to delve into the depths of our inner life. And we don't need massive legs to do this... we are only required to stand up on our own legs, which are enough for us.  The heron invites us to follow our own path, guided only by our innate wisdom with self determination. This is not a rigid path that resists change, but rather it is the "heron" path of adapting to those varied and trying circumstances that our life presents to us.

We have the ability to progress and evolve, as we rename our "troubles" learning experiences and allow that latent life force within us to grow strong and vigorous in spite of our challenges. Through those adverse appearances, that can jar us into a knowledge of who we truly are, we are slowly, but surely, moving through that marshland of murky emotions to a clearer and fresher vision of our destiny. Lifting off, like a bird in flight, from that solid ground of true self knowledge, we can finally rise out of that grassy marsh which seems to bog us down. Now we are able to fly above our fears to those heights we dream about, at last, making them a realty. And then we can experience the greatest love which is to be who we really are.