The soul speaks its truth only under quiet, inviting and trustworthy conditions…

The soul is like a wild animal – tough, resilient, savvy, self-sufficient, and yet exceedingly sly. If we want to see a wild animal, the last thing we should do is go crashing through the woods, shouting for the creature to come out. But if we are willing to walk quietly into the woods and sit silently for an hour or two at the base of a tree, the creature we are waiting for may well emerge, and out of the corner of an eye we will catch a glimpse of the precious wildness we seek.  – Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak

Patience is a virtue, or so I’ve heard! Being still and waiting is not my forté… and, it is a way of being, a state, that can be cultivated with practice. I’m more of a make a to-do list, tackle it… more comfortable doing vs. being. Does that sound familiar? What I notice is that while doing allows me to be productive and feel valuable and good, doing can result in me missing something amazing, or missing an opportunity to deeply connect with someone. When I am more on the being end of the doing-being continuum, I can experience life more richly – the “precious wildness” I seek is more likely to emerge or allow a glimpse of itself.

What is the “precious wildness” you seek?

Being present and directing our attention to what’s happening in the moment – allowing ourselves to fully experience whatever is there (rather than working to make something happen) is an act of mindfulness. This way of being creates a space in which something new can emerge, e.g., an awareness, an insight, or something wild and precious to be manifested. Recently, my husband and I went swimming in the ocean off the southeast coast of Florida and the water was unusually clear, crystal clear, in fact. I had stopped swimming (I paused to take in the experience in that moment) and dropped down under the surface for a few moments with my goggles still on as I thought, “The water is SO clear, you could see a _____”. And right then, as if on cue to fill in the blank, a shark about as big as me swam by about 30-40 feet away.

This synchronicity between my thought and the shark’s appearance – the simultaneous occurrence of events which appear to be significantly related but which have no discernable causal connection – stirred my curiosity to say the least! I asked a couple of park rangers what kinds of sharks were in these waters – bull sharks and blackfins – and they said sharks were common here. One of the rangers said if you flew over this area in a helicopter, you wouldn’t even want to go in the water. So much for the big picture view from above…one shark underwater was enough to satisfy my need for wonder. I consulted some other resources for more about sharks, because maybe there was a message for me in this. Here’s what I found along with some reflections:

• “Sharks have long served as a cultural symbol of mortality and looming danger. Despite the fact that sharks kill fewer than 20 people a year, their reputation as the ocean’s deadliest predator continues to inspire fear and fascination” (https://poets.org/text/poems-shark-week ).

What needs to die, metaphorically, for me to reconnect with my aliveness?

This is an interesting polarity here – fear and fascination on the same continuum! Maybe I can be more curious about other seemingly opposite emotions and possibilities present. 🤔

• Shark: These fish have skeletons of cartilage and streamlined bodies and are among the scariest predators in the sea. Metaphorically, they’re often hustlers (think pool shark) or other kinds of greedy cheaters. (Find your Fishy Metaphor: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/find-your-fishy-metaphor-23790557/ ) https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/find-your-fishy-metaphor-23790557/#wUZljei4hkDMBKj8.99
  What hustler or greedy cheater was about to swim by? Turns out that two days later a company with whom I contracted for some marketing charged my credit card for another year of ads without my agreement or express permission. Maybe my shark was a warning 😳
  
  
• In her poem Great One of the Oceans, conservationist and photographer Lesley Rochat, describes the shark as having an “otherworldly beauty”, being “perfectly sculpted” and embodying “Power, Purpose, Grace”. She writes that if only we could see the shark through her mind, it would inspire remembering  “The Sacred Thread connecting us all” (https://www.lesleyrochat.com/2011/great-one-of-the-oceans)

This is clearly a different perspective than the one frought with fear and thoughts of death! What if I take the time to Take in the Good (https://www.rickhanson.net/take-in-the-good/ ), as Dr. Rick Hanson suggests?

• In Animal Spirit Guides, Steven D. Farmer writes:

If a shark shows up, it means:

You’re especially sensitive right now, so be careful what environments and situations you expose yourself to.

Allow yourself to swim through your emotions fluidly so as not to get stuck in any one feeling.

You’re very well protected and can ward off any threats, negativity, or psychic attacks.

Maintain your dignity and respect, no matter who or what you encounter.

If shark is your power animal:

You’re very active, always staying busy with something or other, and you find it hard to rest for any length of time.

(Excerpted from Shark in Animal Spirit Guides by Steven D. Farmer, pp. 347-348).

Swimming through emotions fluidly seems like a useful metaphor. The themes of sensitivity, protection, and maintaining dignity and respect are intriguing. And, funny, there’s that staying busy thing!

I’m not sure exactly what all this might mean and I’ll chew on it a bit longer. One thing of which I am certain, had I not paused to go underwater, be still, and look around when I did, I wouldn’t have seen the shark. It was an amazing thing to see this primordial creature moving so fluidly and silently and to be in the same water with only a relatively short distance between the two of us. I felt a sense of awe and respect as well as potential danger because, hey, after all, it was a shark. And, it occurred to me that even though it seemed to be swimming parallel to shore on some focused path away from me and not toward me, it might not be a bad idea to get out of the water, but not in a thrashing away that might attract a shark’s attention. Interesting the stream of thoughts and sensations that are possible in what amounted to less than 5-10 seconds! I’m not even sure of the timeframe of being under water because time seemed to stop, just as I had.

What is the “precious wildness” I have been seeking? To reconnect with my aliveness and a sense of wonder. To embrace the wholeness of life – the challenges along with what comes easily, the sadness and the joy – with gratitude. I don’t want to miss anything important by being too busy to notice or to connect with others in a deep and meaningful way. The experience of amazingly clear water, seeing the shark, and the wonder of it all has impressed upon me once again the value of being present and has refocused my practice: Pausing, being still, dropping down and in – even if for a few breaths – and waiting in wonder to see what emerges.

What small thing can you do today to be still, quiet, and wait for the “precious wildness” to emerge?

I’d love to hear about your practice and what emerges for you in being in it. Drop me an email and share your story: tinageithner@me.com