Swanwick Star Issue No. 4 (2011)
The Wisdom and Wonder of Nature
The Wisdom and Wonder of Nature by Greg Marian
It has become more and more clear to me that an incredible wisdom can be found by simply turning our attention towards the world of Nature. I have found that one of the ways that Nature teaches me profound lessons is by its constant invitation to align my attention to the present moment. Every moment seems to be trying to reveal an unfathomable intelligence and a sense of connectivity with all of Life. An experience that highlights these insights for me happened while I was working on the retreat grounds at Swanwick Centre.
One day while I was using a weed trimmer to cut some grass beside the walking trails in the forest, I suddenly became aware that a little brown bird was sitting on the ground about 10 feet away from me. This was quite odd as the weed trimmer was extremely loud, so much so that I was using ear muffs to deaden its noise. I was amazed that this little bird seemed completely unbothered by the noise and was actually making attempts to come closer to me. In comparison to it I must have appeared as a giant, yet it didn’t seem to display any fear towards me. After a while I continued on with my work and noticed that the bird kept staying in close proximity to me, even though I kept moving along the trail. At times I even feared for the bird’s safety as I almost stepped on it once and was worried that I might accidently injure it with the trimmer. I sensed something profound was occurring but what made it even more interesting is that the retreat centre dog Amigo all of sudden playfully appeared with a stick for me to throw for him to fetch. He had brought his stick to me countless times, but never when I was using the loud weed trimmer, nor when I was that far away from the buildings. I was worried he was going to see the bird and chase it away, but after they noticed each other, they both gave the other space and continued to follow me along the trail. It was delightful to watch them be so respectful and tolerant of each other.
After I was done trimming the grass, the little bird followed me back to the equipment shed, continuing with its fearless behaviour. I then went inside for lunch and wondered if it was still going to be around when I came back, and to my amazement it was, and it continued its playful and curious behaviour. Up to that point I had thought that the bird couldn’t fly as it had just been hopping along the trail, but then all of sudden it flew away into the forest. The next morning I was pleasantly surprised to see the little bird again, which suddenly flew towards me and landed on the ground beside me. This time I had time to call the resident manager Luis so that he could see it as well. He got his camera and took several pictures of it, and in time the bird let us get closer and closer, until it finally got onto Luis’s shoe. We tried to feed it but it wasn’t really interested in food, only in curiously checking us out. We were both amazed at the strangeness of its situation and enjoyed simply being with this precious creature and its remarkable behaviour. Then as suddenly as it appeared, the bird once again flew away, leaving us to wonder if we would ever see it again. For the next 3 days it continued to make daily visits and we began getting accustomed to having its presence around. But as quickly and mysteriously as it came into our lives, one day it flew off into the forest, and we never saw it again.
Because I have had many amazing and profound experiences with animals, I very quickly recognized that this little being was here to show me something important. While experiencing the mysteriousness of this little bird’s visit, one of the things that I witnessed was my mind’s tendency to want to remember other similar situations from the past, and I noticed how that deadened the moment that was happening right in front of me, and which was so incredibly alive with breathless awe. I noticed how there was a sense of trying to figure out the reason why the bird was so tame, and I noticed that it actually didn’t matter, and that indulging in such speculation once again began to pull me away from the profundity of the present moment. I also witnessed the desire arising of wanting the bird to continue being around and how helpless my mind felt when it recognized that it actually had no control over this.
What became more and more apparent was that the lesson was to just simply be alert in every moment, and enjoy the bird’s presence with complete detachment and innocent openness. As the days went on, trying to attach meaning or reason as to why this little bird was miraculously blessing us with its presence began to feel almost violent. All that was left for me to do was to completely let go of trying to fit this situation into something I had known from the past, or to hold onto it with a sense of control and keep it for the future. Through its fearlessness and innocent curiosity, this little being reminded me that all the knowledge and wisdom that I could ever learn is only useful if I can embody it in the moment to moment flow of my life. So to honour this little bird’s visit and the simple yet profound wisdom that it offered me, I decided to call it Dharma, which means ‘the eternal way of truth’. Dharma again revealed to me how beautifully delicate and vulnerable the present moment always is, and for this incredible reminder I feel truly blessed.
