the birds and the bees
Returning home from a trip to visit friends I saw a blackbird pick up a piece of grass and fly away. In that moment I understood nature’s answer to a discussion that I was having the previous evening about our natural rhythms and how it may be possible to connect what we feel like doing with what we have to do.
We all have things to do; obligations and chores, as well as our plans and schedules. And in the midst of that we long to be spontaneous as we like to call it and do what we want when we want. Apart from being on holiday or living the life of a bohemian, I don’t really know of any situation where it would be possible to always do what you wanted exactly at that particular time. We all have timetables and schedules, at least most of us.
So how can we bridge that gap? Well, as I was discussing in my planning strategies I try to observe my daily and weekly rhythms in order to ascertain a schedule of my moods and fancies. This is a fairly general idea and gives one a rough map of how I am likely to be feeling at particular times of day etc. For example, someone who works a 5-day week will be able to predict how they will feel on a Friday afternoon. So from these fairly obvious predictions we can move to more subtle ones.
When we have an idea of how we are likely to be feeling at particular times of the week and the day we can assign specific tasks and meetings so that they match. In a particular mood we are likely to feel like doing one thing more than another. A bit of trial and error should hone this skill.
But the birds, bees, plants and animals have been doing this forever. They also have triggers to remind them as well. But they don’t have choice as such. They have a built in plan which they follow. So when the weather is warm enough, the seeds begin to germinate and the leaves begin to sprout. It made me realise why poets and artists take note of the seasons, not only from year to year but also from decade to decade. The seasons of man and all that. I never really thought about marriage or buying property in my early teens even though I knew about it. But as soon as I hit my early thirties I began to think about it seriously. Just like the birds and the bees we are pre-programmed as well. The only difference is that we have the ability to override that program.
So it’s about awareness. Being aware how we feel and when. But in the longer term our general attitudes to life change as we grow older and hopefully wiser. And as well as learning from trial and error, we can also learn from those with greater knowledge than ourselves. There are those that are able to live how we aspire to live and it is to them that we should turn for our inspiration. The living examples and embodiments of the kind of people we would like to be and the kind of life we would like to live. Which of our friends, family and acquaintances are truly in living in harmony with who they really are? Not merely in theory, but in practice. After mother nature herself it is those people that are our teachers.
The birds and the bees have a season for everything that they do. But what about us? Oh yeah, almost forgot, babies come from supermarkets.