And the Rocks Come Tumbling Down…

                                                             The River of Life…       

Have you ever stood at a shoreline or alongside a river or stream, marveling at the beautifully tumbled and polished rocks all around you?  And have you ever really thought about what was required of those rocks for that to happen?  How does the relationship between the rocks and the Water inform this ongoing refinement and polishing process?  How can we use this mirror as a reflection to cultivate our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual Wholeness?

Since everything we see in our outer world is a reflection of what is within us, how often have you felt yourself being tumbled by the River of Life?  In the midst of this tumbling, how do you typically respond?  Most often, it seems that with our recognition that we are losing control, we resist in varying ways, putting our energy into maintaining control, or at least, maintaining our perception of control.  For all the times I have asked my clients and students, “When it comes right down to it, how much control do you actually have over what happens in your life?”  The response has always been, ”uh …None!”  And then when I ask, “With this understanding, how is it serving you to continue to exert the energy of control on a day-to-day basis?”  After a moment of reflection, the responses are usually along the line of, “Well, it is not serving me at all – it is actually exhausting me!”

So, on one hand, if we know that we are not truly in control of all that happens in our lives, why do we relentlessly try to always be in control? Our default responses most always come from our instinctive need to feel safe and secure, so when we do not feel safe and secure, or we perceive some sort of threat, our automatic response is to do whatever we have to, to feel safe and secure again.

If the tumbling rocks are a mirror of what is happening inside us, how can we use this reflection to better understand ourselves and our default responses to Life, especially when we are feeling challenged and uncomfortable?  How might we learn from the Rocks to strengthen and enhance our own relationship with Water, both inside us and around us?   A deeper look into the reflection we see in the relationship between the Water and the rocks, is quite interesting in this regard.  When I watch the rocks being moved and tumbled in the Riverbed, I do not sense any resistance at all!  Why is that?  What do the rocks know that we do not know?

Before responding to that question, it is important to remind you that the Rocks, the Water, our Mother Earth… all of Nature is alive, has consciousness, and therefore, has feelings.  What the Rocks know that humans have forgotten, is that they are an integral part of the environment in which they find themselves.  They also remember, know, that all of the Life around them is their family, and that in that kinship… they are all One.  The Rocks do not fear the Water, or even what will happen to them, because they know that they are safe and secure in their Family of Origin, which ultimately, is All of Life.  All of Nature knows that all that they, as Beings in their own right, experience in the Natural world is Guided and Nurtured by Mother Earth for their highest good, for the Purpose of refining the evolution of their Consciousness.

Even humans can see that the tumbling of the Rocks brings out and enhances their Beauty.  The Relationship between the Rocks and the Water is one of nourishing and nurturing, loving care.  The smoother the Rocks become, the further they can travel on their path, because they are less likely to get stuck in crevasses or caught up in debris with their former sharp edges.  The further they travel on their path, the more deeply they understand their Unity with All Life, to the point where not being connected is never the remotest consideration.  Can you even imagine how it would feel to know this with absolutely certainty?

With this deep certainty, the Rocks are simply able to let go and allow the Water to carry them, in pure Trust, like a baby held in the loving arms of his or her mother.  Trusting is our 1^st Nature; however, for most of humanity, this Trust has been overshadowed by fear as a direct response to our belief in separation.  This fear is like a dark cloud hanging over us, stifling us, limiting us, and most of the time, we have no idea this invisible cloud has an all-prevailing hold over us. The fear of being unlovable, unacceptable, not good enough are all a function of our belief in separation.  Living in the cloud of this unspoken, unconscious fear has caused untold pain, suffering, depression, and hopelessness on a global scale… and is ultimately the only pandemic that requires our attention.  And what is the antidote to this global pandemic???  Is there a vaccine, a medicine, procedure or pill that will fix this?  Actually, the answer to this question is no, there is no substance that we can take that will heal the original wound of perceived separation.  So then, you may ask, what is the antidote?

Since humanity is the only species on Earth who has adopted a belief in separation, it is fascinating to see how humanity’s need to control has spilled over into Nature, causing unprecedented destruction, contamination, and loss of entire species of our own Kin!  All the while, Nature has continued to be constant in Her compassion and willingness to support humanity in remembering and returning to the embrace of the Family of all Life.  This, my Brothers and Sisters, is the only antidote for our current predicament – to embrace all Life as our Family, to see ourselves as Sacred Beings in Kinship with all other Sacred Beings and to fulfill the original agreement Humanity made with Mother Earth, to care for Her as She has cared for us.  This antidote seems so simple.  Why does it feel so impossible to do?

How often do we get stuck when our sharp edges isolate us and cause us to feel overwhelmed in our perceived aloneness?  Our aloneness, as real as it may feel, is and has always been an illusion!  We only feel alone because we have forgotten that we are all connected as Family – the Family of Life.  Because our Nature Family has not forgotten our Unity, and because Nature is the embodiment of nurturing, nourishing Unconditional Love, when we go into Nature with the express intention to strengthen and deepen our Kinship with all of Life, Nature will help us to remember.

As we begin to reawaken and remember, what if we were to shift our perspective and respond to our tumbling moments in time, not in fear, as if it were a falling from Grace, but in total Trust, in a return to Grace?  What if the Purpose of our tumbling (challenges) is for our own refinement and polishing, that our sharp edges may be worn down, revealing our brilliant Light and the many facets of our multi-dimensionality?  And, what if our willingness to embrace this potentiality made it possible for humanity to lovingly and compassionately embrace the Family of Life as our Family?  In doing so, what if we were finally ready to live within the realm of ease and Grace, compassionate acceptance, and a renewed appreciation for the divine design of infinite diversity that perpetuates the Web of Life?

Let us be the Rocks who know they are FREE, let us let go of our belief in separation, our foundational fear, allowing the River of Life to Guide our Path.  When we understand that the Purpose of the River is to nurture and nourish all Life along Her Path until She at last reaches Her final destination – returning Home to Her Mother Ocean (Unity Consciousness), we will know freedom for the first time.  In that moment we will mirror the Fearless Freedom of the Rocks, reflecting back to all of Nature that we have finally remembered!

It seems to me that this shift in perspective is worth a try.  How about you?  I would LOVE to hear your thoughts and feelings about this potentiality!