Interpreting the Osprey

I've just read a blog posting written by a woman named Swanfeather, about the Osprey.

What provoked my curiosity?

This Osprey settled on the roof next door and has been peering our way for the past few days.

Having studied animal totems and believing there are no accidents, I've been pondering what this dear bird has to teach, to tell, to trigger. Many years ago I decided to expand the fun of interpretting my dreams to interpretting my days...so what does the Osprey's visit mean?

SWANFEATHER- The osprey is connected to all aspects of solar worship. And can come into one's life to emphasise the value and healing properties of the sun, and to help those who practice mystically or spiritually to facilitate sun-god communion.
ME-The coldest winter in more than 20 years here in Florida. I have rekindled my love for the sun. Whenever it appears, I sit outside and turn my face to it, full of appreciation.

SWANFEATHER- An osprey doesn't wait for the fish to jump out of the water to meet him, instead he splashes in headfirst into an element that he could not survive within. He even places his head under the water - unlike sea-eagles. He teaches us how to plunder our resources and the necessity to move outside of our comfort zones in order to do this. Osprey teaches us to take risks, and to not be frightened of grasping opportunities just because they seem like they're out of our reach.

ME-I enrolled in a Jazzercise class, and I start tonight! This is definitely a move outta my Hatha yoga comfort zone. I'm into loose, cotton clothes, not Danskin, but I took the Osprey's advice and bought some. I was getting to the point where only a few pairs of pants fit comfortably...time to reduce the contents. (No accident, my favorite velvet pants that all my friends and family know so well, were ripped on a Sunday hike. Thank you, God...I got the message!)

I also had a major haircut, and left most of the mass on the floor of A Perfect 10. Peggy cut my hair on Thursday, and I went back for more cutting on Friday. Time to lighten up.

SWANFEATHER- An appearance of osprey in your life can indicate an appearance of the spirit in the form of the Beacon, coming to guide you back to a place of safety or security, or to a feeling of groundedness.
ME-Having recovered from the H1N1 flu, and having nearly completed our Florida renovations, I'm stepping back and asking, "Ok, now what?" What I see is that I ready to claim and use more of my personal power. I have much more power over my habits than I have been using, especially when it comes to eating sugar and burning it off.

SWANFEATHER- In terms of working on an energy or elemental level, osprey energy can be called upon when working with the elements of water and wind.
ME- Well, it is windy and rainy now, and has been for most of January and February; I think I've nailed that one! Seriously, I just finished reading a terrific book, Thirty Percent Chance of Enlightenment, by Tim Brookes, a fellow Vermonter. Writing about forecasting monsoons in India, Brookes has an epiphany about the meaning of water in our lives. His ephiphany became mine; he also changed my way of thinking about rain (good thing!) when he wrote:

"What vanity, I thought, that we should consider water a commodity, something put on the planet for our use. Water is the majority, we are the minority. Water may not exactly be alive in the human sense, but it may be life itself in the divine sense, the fons et origo, the genesis and continuing narrative of everything.

"A strange idea struck me. I thought of the fruit and vegetable market Raj and I had passed on our way to the Rock Fort. Nowhere else in the city was so crowded, nowhere else in the city, except perhaps the hotel pool, had such a concentration of water. Mangoes, limes, cabbages, small plumlike fruit, all more than 80 % water, all surrounded by people looking for their daily water intake in semi-solid form. Perhaps that's a universal truth, I thought. Perhaps as water-based creatures we are instinctively drawn to water, even hidden water, even camouflaged water. Perhaps water seeks out water."

SWANFEATHER- Ospreys come into our life to teach us how to hone our senses, on both a physical and spiritual level. We might have become lazy with meditation, or with a physical endeavour we used to enjoy. We might have let our brains, bodies and spirits become sluggish. Osprey claws us back into shape, so that we learn that we nourish ourselves when we're honed.
ME-I have resumed my weekly fast day, which I lost when I was sick. I have added more asanas to my yoga practice, ramping up my determination to be strong and powerful. After all, I have a 40th high school reunion in July and a Sivananda yoga teachers' reunion in August; I want to show up healthy and honed. I bought my train ticket yesterday.

SWANFEATHER- Sometimes opportunity sticks around for a while, but most of the time it doesn't. Osprey teaches us precise timing, and if osprey has come into your life, you are either able to spot opportunities and seize them as soon as they're noticed, or you are learning this trait.
ME-I am seizing and learning. I am glad to be awake and aware in this moment. And, I'm drinking lots of life-giving water.

What Needs Righting?

Have you seen The Blind Side, the true story of NFL player Michael Oher's childhood? I believe Sandra Bullock will win an Oscar for her part as Michael's foster mother. If she doesn't, she should.

Toward the end of the movie, Leanne Tuohy (Bullock) asks her husband (played well by singer Tim McGraw), "Am I a good person?" She also asks him why she does good things.

"I don't know why. For some strange, sick reason," he responds, smiling. (I'm paraphrasing.) My husband looked at me and smiled.

Their conversation stayed with me.

Throughout my life, I have been called a do gooder, an angel, a sap. Decades ago, a man I was dating posted a mantra on my refrigerator, "End of social causes. Beginning of personal gain." But I just never could get the real hang of personal gain; it just didn't interest me. So, when Leanne questions her motives for bringing an essentially parentless, homeless poor young man into her home....I could relate. I've wondered about many of my actions.

Today I watched another true story; The Soloist, starring brilliant Jamie Foxx as Nathaniel Ayers, Jr., a homeless gifted musician. Ayers is given a cello by George Lopez, (played beautifully by Robert Downey, Jr.). The same question came to mind. Why did Lopez take Ayers a cello? And help him find a place to sleep indoors? Why do we do kind things, especially for strangers?

At this moment, the one answer that I have is that giving is all about the giver. My needs and wants. It is the same reason I adjust a crooked picture frame. Walking by a painting that isn't level, something inside directs me touch it ever so slightly, to right it. To right it. That feels right.

NOTE: See skewed picture above. Wanna right it? What else needs righting?

Living with Less and Less and (brrrrr) Less

For my birthday, dear son E. and daughter-in-law A. (how I love writing daughter-in-law!) gave me a framed print, which reads:

KNOWLEDGE AND GROWTH

DO NOT NECESSARILY

MEAN ACCUMULATING MORE,

BUT LETTING GO

OF MOST EVERYTHING.

Doesn't this lovely quotation make you think?

Living with less is a value I have practiced for many years, especially living in India part of the year. How can I explain having so much to my friends who live with so little?

This winter, since Christmas, we have been living with less here in Florida...LESS WARMTH, THAT IS!

Our neighbors, longtime snowbirds, tell us that

• "This is the coldest winter I've experienced in the 20 years I've been coming here!"
  
• "It should be 20 degrees warmer this time of year!"

Yup, we're living with 20 degrees less.

And just Who The Heck Am I to think the weather should be a certain way?

Working hard to learn the lesson the elements are teaching us....we let go of the expectation of hot weather this Valentine's Day Sunday. I gave my husband mittens and a hot mug of mocha java. He gave me flowers, chocolate and a space heater.

Meting Out Our Generosity

Last month's horrific Haitian earthquake led to a major aftershock right here in the US: the shaking of coins out of our pockets. In the wake of the quake, a bit of global generosity was generated.

Why do I write "A Bit"?

Because, I am comparing the approximately $528 million raised, to date, with what we Americans spent the weekend after our November Thanksgiving holiday in 2009.

According to Newsweek, on the Friday following our feasting, we went out and spent $10.66 BILLION. And the following Monday, sitting at our computers at work, we spend another $887 MILLION.


We certainly donate more than the change from the bottom of our purses and under the couch cushions when shopping for ourselves.
This spending disparity has been making me uncomfortable. What must happen to shift our spirit of giving?

Today, I read a beautiful Daily Om essay on opening the heart. Opening the heart, the writer tells us, "The more you practice, the more you will find your heart opening to your own presence and to all the situations your life brings."

A fellow Vermonter has found a creative and fun way to open her heart. Elizabeth Winters has created Ragdolls 2 Love, a nonprofit organization that makes and sends simple cloth dolls to children in troubled parts of the world. Here is a video of Elizabeth shipping out some of her adorable cloth babies to Haiti.

Do you receive a free subscription to the Daily Om? Why not treat yourself to a daily inspiring email? If you were a subscriber, you would have been reminded today, that, when opening the heart, we are asked, "to practice some of the heart's greatest lessons—patience, compassion, and unconditional love."

What a perfect way to prepare for celebrating Valentine's Day....at home and in Haiti.

Kacey, the Wonder Dog

A friend in California sent me this wonderful story about his beloved dog, Kacey. Kacey is a young lady who recently completed all her training and certification requirements to be a therapy dog. Thought you would love to read of her loving power:

"hey bethany..

here is a picture of my new hero.. kacey the therapy dog had her first day at CHOC.. children's hospital of orange county.

she was quite nervous at first.. probably it was me transferring the energy..but she settled in. did her thing with her eyes (they all say she just looks at them and they know she is looking closely) and wanting to shake everyone's hand..

then there was this young boy.. maybe 10 or so.. bad cancer and he looked pretty worn out.. he looked at kacey and was just lying there and petting her head a bit while she had her head on the bed side.

then his mom read the back of kacey's bio card (all the dogs get one that tells a bit about them and has their picture on it as a memento).. she said, "well look michael, kacey is like you, she is a very picky eater !"

he just perked up.. said to kacey.. "You are like me?".. then he got out of bed and got on the floor beside her and shook her hand and said, "i am glad to meet you kacey".. there were a few hugs that shortly followed and kacey just rubbed her head against his skinny worn down body..

the nurse had a few tears.. she said they can never get him out of the bed.

i guess that is what it is all about.. funny how it just happens.. she is quite a dog.. just has an instinct for it.. and a few other times she was done shaking hands and then (on her own) she did her beg thing.. sits on her back legs and just leans back..no treats or anything.. just does it."

Those of us who are dog owners and dog lovers know the mighty companionship of a loving pet. Let us all raise a cheer for Kacey; a great teacher to all who her cross her path.