Today I decided to get out of my own way, blow away the cobwebs inside myself and reconnect with myself. My experiment is to ‘be’ and ‘notice’ what nourishes me, how connected I am, and what aliveness I feel. My journey takes place near the Auckland Zoo at the Western Springs Park in Auckland circumnavigating not the globe, but the ‘lake-full’ body of water in this space. What follows below is the legend that came from this experience.
It is a rainy day in Auckland. I notice the rain does not stop life from happening in every second. The rain, for me, brings a certain amount of aliveness and cleansing. I love to walk in the rain — as long as I don’t get too wet!
Walking up to the gates of the Japanese Garden I notice a big sigh exits my body — my entire body relaxes. It knows what is coming… A beautiful, peaceful, tranquil space. I feel joy rising inside.
The flowing water, fish in the pond, the carefully laid out stones which form a path to walk on, the clean space, the greenness of it all! The simplicity of the space starts to nourish my Being.
The roofed structure comes into sight — another sigh, more body relaxing… a big smile on my face and I feel more joy rising, more aliveness inside — to be outside in a green alive space. I stop, take in a few breaths, and allow the presence and feel of this space to penetrate deep inside myself.
There is so much ‘be-ing’ going on in this wide-open space in the middle of such a big City.
Pigeons and Pukeko line the paths and at times chickens can be seen also. None are in a hurry to remove themselves as I wander by. They seem to have no fear. I feel my joy and care (sadness) and am in awe of their ability to trust as I move slowly between them — so close — only a few centimetres away from them in some instances.
There is a young one striding out, seemingly in a hurry! Can you spot him?
A little further on, from a bridge, there are two swans nibbling on the green weed in the water. They seem totally unaware of anything other than themselves and their food. In my mind I notice a couple of thoughts pass by — they could be stuck in the weed or on an island… I smile to myself at the thought. I find myself fascinated with this weed nibbling — I feel joy to see what they are doing and I linger a while to watch. I am very curious and present with wonder.
I turn to the other side of the bridge and there is another swan — there is such a magical connection between the two of us — we spend several moments together — making eye contact and I get a real sense of honest curiosity and ‘be-ing’ with each other.
Aliveness (my conscious fear) fills me at each turn, with each new experience. And there is young new aliveness here too — 3 new baby Pukeko chicks, in community grazing in togetherness, exploring and discovering from the newness of life.
Then I stumble on what I will call an elder in the flock, who I’ve lovingly named ‘Grandpa Pigeon’. This fellow is well feathered and well weathered. I wonder what he has seen in his lifetime?
Generations live here!
The community here is multi-cultural with many different species. They all seem to have their place — coexisting with very little (if any) fighting anywhere — each seems to be accepting of the other, they find their spaces and make the space their own. There seems to be little evidence that low drama exists here — so much high drama is created in this community right now.
There is a wildness in this space also, where the wind and rain have driven with force. Who knows what will happen at any moment. These creatures who live here live in a space of unknown — they decide in the current moment what they will do next. I am part of that now. It reminds me that anything is possible at any moment. Something can break, maybe a relationship or the loss of a loved one, perhaps something is said that cannot be taken back. It reminds me of the preciousness of life in each moment. And it reminds me that healing can happen, just as trees continue to grow with branches broken off, I too have the ability to heal, grow and evolve.
And I wonder…
- What would life be like for you if you had the same freedom to choose inside?
- What would you do if you were fully alive with all your feelings in the present moment, nothing standing in your way?
I have decided this place, in fact any place, is filled with magic — if I take the time to notice it.
- Where do you notice magic and aliveness in your life?
- Are you aware of your very present moment, the moment of ‘small now’, right now?
If you are reading this, I invite you to do an experiment:
- Take a walk somewhere of your choosing, with the sole purpose to be in the present moment,’ be with’ yourself and what is there and notice what happens inside you.
- Would you share what you discover in the comments below?
- And would you share the results with someone you care about?
If you’d like to connect more about feeling and ‘be-ing’ in your small now please contact me.
www.jonewton.org
