Swan Sanctuary

For several years now I have included the quote from Plato, “A grateful mind is a great mind, which eventually attracts to it great things”, at the bottom of my emails. This morning, while brewing some tea, my eyes fell on a quote that was printed on the box. “There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart” was said by a well-known author of the 19^th century, Celia Thaxter. Numerous individuals who have shared their wisdom with the world have discovered this truth. Plato says that the mind ought to be grateful. Celia speaks of a grateful heart. Modern science has told us that the heart also has a brain. It makes no difference though, if it is the brain or the heart, or both. Gratitude is the key to happiness.

When we are feeling thankful, we are in a state of acceptance, a necessary element of being present in the moment. This automatically moves us into a place of selflessness, which leads to a sense of generosity and a willingness to be of service. When we are in this state of joyful thanksgiving, it becomes second nature to show kindness, which is another form of love. This is the desired state of all human beings. It is not difficult. These six things are the essential seeds of a fruitful life: gratitude, acceptance, selflessness, generosity, service, and kindness.

Why aren’t we all living fruitful lives? Why has hatred and judgement and anger pervaded our world? Why do we have so much war and so little peace? We can change the world. We can each do our part every day by beginning with thankfulness. From the moment we open our eyes in the morning and throughout the day, we can cultivate gratitude. What are you waiting for?

I have discovered a relaxing music channel on YouTube that is accompanied by underwater photography of sea life. It is positively mesmerizing and I find it difficult to pull my gaze away from the beautiful scenery. The stunning colors and dots and stripes and shapes of so many different fish is truly incredible. There is a whole other world down there! It helps me to understand why people choose to have aquariums and fish in bowls, although I don’t condone the practice.

I have been land locked for basically my entire life and although my parents never concerned themselves with teaching me how to swim, they were insistent that I learn to water ski. I grew up spending time at reservoirs and lakes and I love water; but because of my inability to swim with my face in the water, I have always had a fear of deep water. I was 24 years old before I saw the ocean for the first time. I fell in love with it of course, but the opportunity to live near it, has not yet come my way. I had the opportunity to scuba dive once, but my fear of being underwater prevented me from taking advantage of it. I settled for a ride in a glass bottomed boat, but that aggravated my vertigo. It was disappointing, but now I get to have the simulated experience in watching the YouTube film.

I am not exactly a fan of technology. I do my best to “keep up with the times” though the speed with which advancements have been made is mind boggling. I grew up with black and white television and only five or six channels to choose from. Photographs were taken with film and when the roll was used up you took it to the drugstore to have it developed. About a week later you could pick up your pictures. It was expensive on a girl’s meager weekly allowance and the excitement and anticipation of finally seeing your pictures was often a huge letdown. Many of the pictures were fuzzy, underexposed, overexposed, and not even printable. Today we can take numerous shots until we get the right one and we can delete as many as we want. The sharpness and clarity is amazing, it costs us nothing, and we do not have to wait for film to be developed. And, we can do this right from our phone!

The best part about these great strides in photography is that we can have hidden camera traps placed strategically in the wild to show us the amazing other species that we share this planet with. There is no need for those so inclined, to participate in the illegal pet trade and there is no need to keep fish in bowls, birds in cages, or other wild animals as prisoners. There is no need to display them in zoos or to exploit them in the circus. We can simply enjoy them from the comfort of our own homes, sitting in our living rooms, watching them on our televisions. The fish, birds, and animals can live in their own habitat, with their own kind, living the lives they were created to live. As terrestrial beings, we can have a glimpse of the underwater world and do no harm.

There are people who live much of their lives in darkness. Perhaps they live in an apartment with only a few windows, or they live in a house nestled in the woods, or they live in one which has no windows in sun-facing directions. They may work a night shift. They may live where there is light, but they keep their blinds closed and neither the darkness nor the cold bothers them. I crave light and sunshine and I find that during that brief period of the day known as dusk, I often endure short episodes of depression. Similarly, I prefer not to greet the new day until darkness has gone.

My new home with its ample windows is appreciated not only by me, but also by my houseplants that seem to be smiling. My cat stretches out in the sun shining through the bedroom window. One recent afternoon when the sun was filling the room with its bright beams, its warmth bathed the chair I was sitting in and I indulged myself in a short nap. It was heavenly.

We often associate darkness with evil, but darkness is merely the absence of light. While our bodies seek physical light, our souls seek inner light. There are people on the planet who are keepers of that light. We are drawn to them when we seek the light. We are drawn out of darkness, out of confusion, out of the illusions that cloud our clarity, as in a window into our soul. I believe that more and more people are turning towards that window. They are awakening from the pervasive darkness that has enveloped the Earth and they are moving towards that light. We are learning that we cannot fight the darkness, nor can we declare war on it. Violence will only bring more darkness. The only way to dispel the darkness is to spread light wherever we go.

Human beings are a complicated species. We are multi-faceted, revealing different aspects of ourselves, depending on whom we are with and what we are doing in any given moment. We play numerous roles throughout the day and throughout our lifetimes. And, if that were not enough to keep us on our toes, we have actors and actresses who in addition to their own roles, pretend to be someone else. When we are not playing in our own stories, we are often watching movies or television programs with actors and actresses portraying their pretend roles for us.

We are probably our most authentic selves when we are children. We can play the roles of student, friend, sister, brother, cousin, niece, nephew, grandchild, and often step-child. For those who like doing sports, football player, basketball player, or gymnast are only a few examples of functions that may become attached to a person. Once we reach adulthood, we begin to add new parts to our already existing ones. We become graduates, employees, wives, husbands, tenants, homeowners, and pet owners. These of course are only general applications that fit the blueprint of who we might become. In fact, they are merely labels. If we have made enemies during our life, very negative labels may be attached to us. For most of us; however, to most of the world, we are strangers. The labels that may be attached to a stranger are generally not based on fact, but through the biased filters of the one looking.

So, who are we really? It is a common practice to provide new acquaintances with a business card that describes what we do. It may list various accomplishments and contact information, but it does not tell the person we are giving it to, who we really are. The calling cards of the Victorian era, while very precise in social etiquette, contained a somewhat romantic mystique. For the most part we remain mysteries to one another, regardless how well we might think we know someone. We are often mysteries even unto ourselves. When we reach the end of life, we barely resemble the person that we were as a child, either physically or mentally; but if our life has accomplished what we hope it does, we are much closer to knowing ourselves, who we really are. That which resonated with us as a child resonates with us at the end of life. We re-discover in the later years what we intuitively knew as a child. At this late stage the real me can at last stand up in all of its authenticity.

I was unaware until yesterday that the use of animals for scientific testing is still prevalent in spite of Cleveland Amory’s fight against it more than 40 years ago. There are numerous organizations, including the Humane Society International, doing their best to stop these deplorable acts. While rats and mice have been the most common animals used in testing, there seems to be no limit to the variety of species used in these tortuous acts. The most shocking to me is that some countries use chimpanzees and other primates for their gruesome testing. The ignorance that allows human beings to believe that other species do not suffer or feel pain, both physically and emotionally, is incomprehensible. Scientists, in general, seem to lack any degree of empathy.

The means of torture to these innocent animals and birds goes far beyond what a sane person can fathom. Indeed, any person who carries out these horrific experiments is clearly insane. Physical restraint for extended periods of time, food and water deprivation, and the infliction of wounds are the least of the insidious deeds that these scientists conduct. Injection of and forced exposure to dangerous chemicals and infectious diseases, along with force feeding, burning, cutting, and surgery are common practices. Behavioral experiments of isolation and social deprivation, shock, and genetic manipulation are routine, as well.

I believe it is the drug manufacturing companies, along with the manufacturers of the millions of dangerous herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, makeup, and industrial chemicals that are continually being marketed to consumers, which are behind the genocide of so many innocent species. We must put a stop to this evil that has become so pervasive in our modern world. Mother Nature provided us with all that we need to maintain perfect health for all. The human collective ego has deluded itself into believing that it can “cure” the innumerable problems that it created. We must put a stop to corporate greed and put a stop to the ongoing murder of our fellow species. Human karma has brought about global warming. When we torture or kill another, we ultimately torture and kill ourselves. It is more important than ever to raise our collective consciousness and refuse to tolerate the serial killing of other animals. The abominable practices that have persisted for far too long are no longer acceptable!

Plants provide the greatest example of teaching us how to live peacefully with one another. They require very little in order to thrive. As long as they are in the right place where they are provided with healthy soil, with the right amount of light, water, and nutrients, they fulfill their existence perfectly. They accept whatever comes their way, whether it is wind, rain, snow, ice, birds, insects, or even mammals.

I have three Christmas cactus of three different shades – the original coral red, white, and yellow. When I was living in a tiny, dark apartment, with only one west window, they drooped and refused to bloom. The red one, which I have had for 12 years, would always begin blooming in November; but they simply refused to bloom when I could not give them sufficient light. Now they have three large windows from which they receive indirect light all day long. It is long past the proper time for them to bloom; however, all three are now bursting with buds. Plants know intuitively that they need to grow, flower, and produce seed within a limited space of time. I marvel at plants in my late summer garden that will flower when they are still quite small because they ultimately know that they must produce the seed before winter.

It is no different for birds and animals in the wild. They waste no time once spring has arrived in finding a mate and producing young to ensure the survival of their species. The flurry of birds as they build their nests and raise their young is a beautiful thing to witness. All the while, the trees and plants, while doing what they were designed to do, also offer food and shelter for numerous other species. The plants and the animals and birds live in symbiotic harmony. We can learn so much from them when we take the time to observe and appreciate them. The natural world can serve as a mentor for us in creating the peace that we need in our human world.

When we are born, we are in a sense floating along in a vessel over which we have no control. Our parents and caretakers are steering our journey. As we mature and our ego grows, we seek to take hold of the oars and direct our own life. Not knowing any better, we may resist the flow of the river of life. We may try to stop the ever forward movement, or worse; we may attempt to fight our way upstream. We may spend years in the futile attempt to control the direction and speed of our life boat. When we begin to grow old, we simply become too tired to continue our resistance, or we apply the wisdom that we have acquired through the years. We learn to swim effortlessly with what is and to simply let go and float, knowing that life always gives us exactly what we need.

I spent many years resisting the cold. I resisted snow and winter and wind and pretty much any weather that was not spring or summer. I have learned to accept the cold, dreary days. In fact, I actually love cloudy days. I love the long, soaking rains that were common when I lived in Virginia. I miss the rain, but today I sit and watch snowflakes through my windows as they float sideways to the ground. The violin and cello music that I often play on cloudy days seems to add a special ambience and reminds me to simply appreciate this day. I watch the birds flocking to the feeders and I am grateful that I can in some way help them to stay warm and satiated.

I am safe and warm. I have a roof over my head, heat, warm blankets, music, food, and fresh water at my disposal. Clearly, there is nothing to complain about. There is nothing to resist. I accept this moment, this day just as it is. I am grateful for the peace that has come to rest within my soul. It is the peace that comes with understanding. It is the peace that comes with letting go; from moving from resistance to acceptance because we no longer need to steer the vessel. We are the vessel.