Pushed Off Course

Lessons For Life From Nature

Pick Pretty Places to Contemplate or Cry

Have you ever found yourself frustrated with the circumstances of life? Either not able to get to where you want to go? Or stuck in a place you don't like? I understand; believe me! Living with permanent disability has a way of rearranging your aspirations. May I share something that helped me recently?

( If so, read on.)

One day, I sat on a park bench by a scenic river to have a big cry. Not just any cry. A deep, forlorn, "how-is-it-all-gonna-work-out" cry. Listening to Ray LaMontagne Station, I had just about reached a point of emotional exhaustion when I was startled. Close by, a large bird had swooped past me. It was hawkish and fast. I sat watching, trying to determine its end game. Was it chasing smaller birds? Or ready to drop onto earthen prey? Something felt odd about its behavior. Peculiar enough for me to consider a hidden message. (I am pretty resourceful to get the help I need) So, just for a moment, I allowed myself to be distracted from the pain, and I let nature teach me a lesson. I was glad I paid attention. What I saw shifted my mind and body.

The hawk (who I will call Red) kept flying to a particular place where he would hold his position with great effort. Red did this several times. Arriving to the same spot without progressing. I watched as his body bowed and his wings worked hard at the side of his body. It was truly strenuous. Again, I thought Red was looking for ground-prey, but he never dive-bombed to earth. Then it struck me, that the winds were very strong; the river was turbulent as well. Was it possible that Red was being held back from going forward? Was Red attempting to complete some instinctive route and hitting a wall? Did he have a plan that he couldn't complete? Well, I am not an ornithologist (and if you are, give me some leeway here) it's for a good cause! But, I imagined that Red was as frustrated as I was in his journey.

Just for a moment let's remember that this is an analogy, a visual display in nature of the very place I was. I felt like I had been working very hard to get somewhere. I was feeling discouraged and exhausted by the lack of results. On that riverfront bench, I was despairing that I would ever get anywhere I wanted. Can you relate? (Please say you can! ) And don't despair, Red has something to say about the matter.

You see, I've only spoken of Red's struggle, and his effort in this story. The lesson is really about what happens next. After Red had flapped and worked, he did something truly powerful; he relented. He surrendered. He reached his large wings outward with astounding results. Instantly, the hawk was powerfully lifted and shifted backwards. (Think Maverick pulling off a MIG in TopGun) And you know what? I didn't feel sad, or discouraged or despairing about it. To watch this, was visceral for me. I felt a tangible relief in my body as he was lifted up and away. My relief was accompanied by the awe of his effortless flight. The fact that Red was moved way, way backward was not upsetting to me. It was okay. It was a natural surrender to a higher power, a wind, that did all the work. It actually looked fun to get pushed off course by this wind. This invisible power (wind, Spirit or God) pushed Red to a place that he did not choose, but to a destination he must accept.

So I ask you? Have you felt pushed off course recently? Are you worn out by trying to execute a plan that is filled with obstacles? Have you failed to recognize the shift in your environment, your circumstances? If you said yes to any of these questions, then maybe its time to pull a hawkish move. Like Red, instead of working harder, work smarter. Instead of flapping your wings and bowing your body in futile strenuousness, try expanding your reach outward. Feel into the fullness of the body that is YOU. Acknowledge yourself, your frame, your strengths and limitations. Resist constricting in defeat or despair. Instead, feel into the moment. Notice what's around you. Appreciate how you fit into the environment, and the current circumstances. And then consider what higher power, greater forces are at work to lift you, to move you, effortlessly to a new place.

For me this is Jesus. It's a surrender to a good God, who has walked the earth and knows the pain I experience. (Still, He holds the winds in His hands.) Crying on that riverbank, is a sign of growing pains in my life with Him. I was pouring my heart out to a living God, Psalm-like angst amidst the buffeting winds of my life. He saw my frame on that bench, He heard my cries. He sent a bird. A bird who could not win his way forward, either. A bird who understood how to use its body in collaboration with an invisible power. And so must I. Use this body in collaboration with God. Walking with Jesus in trust and surrender. Accepting His redirection, in difficult seasons.

Just wondering, are you in need of surrender? A better understanding of where you end and Higher Power begins? Can you quit your agenda or adjust your timing when circumstances demand it? Do you want to toil for peace, more than for purpose? If so, then. surrender is your power move. The movement of reaching outward, rather than forward. The choice of relationship over results (relationship to self, to the environment, to God). Could you believe that surrender, is not defeat, but the ultimate collaboration of your body in God's hands? If you can, then you just might have the ride of your life.

With All Compassion.