I Aspire to be a Duck

Here is something I read today that I love and wanted to share. It is called...

The Duck with a Human Mind

In the power of now, I mentioned my observation that after two ducks get into a fight, which never last long, they will separate and float off in opposite directions. Then each duck will flap its wing vigorously a few times, thus releasing the surplus energy that built up during the fight. After they flap their wings, they float on peacefully, as if nothing had ever happened. If the duck had a human mind, it would keep the fight alive by thinking, by story-making. This would probably be the duck's story: "I don't believe what he just did. He came to within five inches of me. He thinks he owns this pond. He has no consideration for my private space. I'll never trust him again. Next time he'll try something else just to annoy me. I'm sure he is plotting something already. But I'm not going to stand for this. I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget." And on and on the mind spins it's tale, still thinking and talking about it days, months, or years later. As far as the body is concerned, the fight is still continuing, and the energy it generates in response to all those thoughts is emotion, which in turn generate's more thinking. (As people say, "I'm to much in my head right now" syndrome) This becomes the emotional thinking of ego. You can see how problematic the ducks life would become if it had a human mind. But this is how humans live all the time. No situation or event is ever really finished. The mind and the mind-made "me and my story" keep it going.
We are species that has lost its way. Everything natural, every flower or tree, and every animal have important lessons to teach us if we would only stop, look, and listen. Our ducks lesson it this: Flap your wings-which translates as "let go of the story"-and return to the only place of power: the present moment.

An emotion that does harm to the body, stress, also infects the people you come into contact with and indirectly, through a process of chain reaction, countless others you never meet. There is a generic term for all negative emotion: unhappiness.
-Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth

As I'm reading this I think of the forrest and how all living things in the forrest are connected. The most obvious example of this are Aspen Trees. So what makes people so different from the Aspen Tree???
I will think of myself as an Aspen tree of the world, all connected to one another. And when I cross the path of dysfunction and something negative, I will think of the Duck. So if you see me somewhere down the road doing the booty shake vigorously, it will not be because I want to be like J-Lo (although and good booty shake is sexy), but instead, letting something non enhancing for me go. If you ever have seen the movie Crash, the film tells this same story and is an Amazing film! Let's not crash into each other.

As for my last post of "My Sexy Waterfall" It has been my most viewed Blog by far. I hope you enjoyed it because I laughed my ass off writing it and so did a few friends. Keep it light and fun and don't forget to laugh!

What a beautiful thing to learn is to love and let go.

-td

My Sexy Waterfall

Today I decided not to drive, so I walked. I walked and walked and walked. I traveled mostly on dirt, plants, rocks and water. There were no signs to fallow, only indications that people had walked this path before. I scared off a lot of grasshoppers along the way as I walked threw the talk grassy meadows and I thought to myself... I hope I'm not smashing to many of them, I like grasshoppers. They are my favorite fly when I fish and my favorite fish food. Then I thought... they are grasshoppers, they know how to get out of the way. Hundreds of them jumped as I went through this meadow. I traveled with 3 dogs, my boy Buddy and his two friends Oscar and Blue. I wasn't sure how far I was going when I started this "walk" so I didn't bring any water with me but I could hear water almost the entire time. I wanted to get to it so I fallowed the sound of this water as it got louder and louder, then finally....SCORE!!! My journey lead me to the most unbelievable waterfall. I mean gushing and blowing so heavily that the surrounding land around this water fall was soaked. Sounds kinda sexy this water fall! It was and so I climbed it. Not the water fall itself but around it although a vision of actually climbing a waterfall is an entertaining thought.  I was able to shimmy up a loose rocky mountainside and around a ledge with the dogs hot on my tail and land about mid way up the fall. It was a double decker so I stood at where it crashed on the first level. It was AMAZING!!! I stood about 20 feet from the thrusting of this sacred fall and took my clothes off. Yep, you heard me. I had too, I was getting wet. I wanted to feel the vibrance of this cold raging fall against my skin. It wasn't windy out but gusts were hitting me. It was still air everywhere around me but within this 20 foot radius of the fall. So I stood there half naked, stretched my arms out to each side, let my head fall back and took it all in until I was completely wet all over. I HAD to soak it in, literally and the cold of this water was piercing my soul as if to say "Wake Up, Your Alive, Here, Now"! The dogs on the other hand stood back and watched.... I think they were confused. They wanted to swim in the pool of water below, not get hit in the face with it. After I was completely wet front to back I proceeded to stumble and fall my way back down with a cold chill. I had to recover from this engaging moment.

This moment, this walk, made my day. While I stood at the fall everything disappeared even time. It was pure presence and a great gift for the day before my birthday. Tonight...friends and dinner with I'm sure some wonderful wine. Being in the presence of good friends is the best present I could ask for and my all day adventure I will always remember. My sexy waterfall.....

I'm so happy I decided not to drive today because you never know what you might find when you step outside your box and go for an adventure. Next time, bring water. You never know how long you will be gone.