Animal Kingdom has a lot to teach us.
A lion or a cat for instance teaches us that some good tongue smacking, having a heartfelt yawn and stretching the limbs after a nap , is important to get the energies flowing.
It makes me wonder how many people in our Western World in fact jump out of bed in the mornings at the sound of the alarm, instantly beginning their days in a hurried fashion.
Even dogs in Western society do a better job than that. They stretch their front paws and hind legs, flicking between ‘downward facing dog’ and ‘upward facing dog’, stretching the lower back and flexing the spine, both movements aimed at allowing the energy flow to move through the body with more ease. It certainly has a reason the old yogi’s named two exercises after these movements.
Also birds set excellent examples to improve human behavior.
Ever wonder why birds makes nests? Well probably you don’t need to, for you know why, they make nests to lay their eggs in.
Did you ever wonder though what birds do outside of the egg-laying-season? The answer is they fly around freely, not bothered by any maintenance, repair work or finding a place to live; at least not until the next egg-laying-season comes in sight. The World is their castle, the Air and the Earth their Space, and most importantly, their Inner World is their home and they take it to wherever they fly.
Humans are a bit different in that sense. They keep building at their nests, dressing it up according to the latest fashion; changing the furniture even when it’s still good to go and then when they feel they need a break, they fly to a holiday destination to create another nest in a building where there’s a lot of nests together, in order to relax.
While I understand people need houses all years through rather than temporary nests, I think we could learn from birds in the sense that it doesn’t matter, where you live, or what your house looks like, as long as it is clean. Nor does it matter how big of a house you own, or which neighborhood is better to live in than another, as long you know how to stay in touch with your Inner Home, ‘the real you’ the world you live in 24 hours a day and leaves you free to fly wherever you want to go and be who ever you want to be.
Ingrid Schippers
The Hague, 19-10-2015
This blog is recorded as weekly end-note of Dutchbuzz.nl, the radio program for internationals, every Tuesday on The Hague FM from 10 to 11 pm.
All programs are archived at Dutchbuzz.nl.
