Watching gulls swoop up and down at will in the medium of air, it is easy to feel a pang of yearning to follow suit. Humans being so very creative, we are now finding ways to feel what the bird feels by things such as 'wing suits', sky diving, hang gliding, ultra-lite airplanes,etc. So we can simulate the sensations that birds have but I would suggest there is something else we are yearning for even more than sensation. We are yearning to be free from entanglements that keep us from feeling we can treat life like a banquet of exploring and experiencing.
I don't know how many of you saw the video of the whale that was near death from being entangled in fishing net. This was down in Baja California. A small boat of people came across the whale and at first thought it was already dead. When they realized it was alive, everyone got into gear to try to cut the whale free using any of the limited means they had. The work was arduous and the distressed whale seemed to be hanging on by a thread, but, miracle of miracles, this whale (a humpback), did get free, and swam off, and began breaching and hurling its massive body in the air. The whale did this over and over and over. The exuberance of its freedom from entanglement was one of the most tangible expressions of joy I have ever witnessed. I will never forget it.
One reason the image was so powerful is that, I am convinced, this is what we all want. The things that entangle us seem so real and formidable and yet . . . our helpers, be they our own talents and intuitions or actual beings or invisible friends from other levels or just the tides of the time are always there doing the utmost to set us free. The whale did its job of staying alive while under great duress long enough to be set free. That is our job too. When the going is tough, just remember that whale hanging on, getting what must have seemed like miraculous help, and then going on to probably be having, to this day, a very fulfilled and grateful whale life.
I don't know how many of you saw the video of the whale that was near death from being entangled in fishing net. This was down in Baja California. A small boat of people came across the whale and at first thought it was already dead. When they realized it was alive, everyone got into gear to try to cut the whale free using any of the limited means they had. The work was arduous and the distressed whale seemed to be hanging on by a thread, but, miracle of miracles, this whale (a humpback), did get free, and swam off, and began breaching and hurling its massive body in the air. The whale did this over and over and over. The exuberance of its freedom from entanglement was one of the most tangible expressions of joy I have ever witnessed. I will never forget it.
One reason the image was so powerful is that, I am convinced, this is what we all want. The things that entangle us seem so real and formidable and yet . . . our helpers, be they our own talents and intuitions or actual beings or invisible friends from other levels or just the tides of the time are always there doing the utmost to set us free. The whale did its job of staying alive while under great duress long enough to be set free. That is our job too. When the going is tough, just remember that whale hanging on, getting what must have seemed like miraculous help, and then going on to probably be having, to this day, a very fulfilled and grateful whale life.
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