Free as a bird

 My last blog entry was about “letting it snow”.  Well two months later it is still snowing!  Repeatedly I have been in awe, watching the transformations taking place around me this winter.  Most memorable was the recent ice storm.  The way the frozen branches of bushes and trees reflected the light of the sun in such colorful ways and made the entire landscape sparkle is unforgettable.  It had an eery look too, of life captured by death, a moment on hold, unhinged from reality, free.

“Think of Zen, of the Void, of Good and Evil and you are bound hand and foot. Think only and entirely and completely of what you are doing at the moment and you are as free as a bird.”  

As adults we often wish we could be as free as a bird. We love to spend time with children catching some of the priceless innocence, engaged presence, absence of self consciousness and  the undivided attention to playing.
It seems that growing up can lead us to be “bound hand and foot” until we recognize that we long for what we had when we were children: this undivided attention to the one thing we were doing.  Deep down we know that “to find the kingdom of heaven we have to become like children again” (St. John).      Think of a range of images: from young children’s delight in blowing bubbles; or their full engagement in listening to a story at their grandparents side, to the wood worker lovingly sanding the final edges of a new table, to the artist infused with inspiration to complete a painting.  This ability to fully be occupied with what one is doing is common to these images.
    I like to think that playfulness helps us stay in the moment.  The charm and lightness we experience when we are playful with one another is uplifting and joyful.  On the wings of playfulness we can feel free from the bondage of over thinking or worry that might trap us.
    To be playful we need a sense of humor.  Humor allows us not to take things seriously all the time.  Humor understands deeply while providing perspective at the same time.  With humor and playfulness we can laugh at ourselves with others and feel the humanity of our shortcomings and other bondages with warmth and a sense of free space from them.
      I hope this Valentine’s Day includes moments of playfulness and good humor to ease the seriousness of life, and the strength to be entirely focused on what you are doing at any given moment, including being playful!


~Claudia