Photo by John Hanses whose work is on display at Songbird.
The natural world changes from day to day and from year to year. Some of these changes are expected, and some are unexpected. The hills usually turn green by the beginning of winter, but this year they didn’t until now. Until the recent rain, I wondered if they would. Nothing is completely predictable in nature. It is the same way in life and at Songbird.
This year has seen many changes, including the departure of two long term practitioners and several newer ones. As practitioners have left, it has sometimes been challenging not to take things personally. On an intellectual level, it is easy. I am very good at seeing other points of view. I have sometimes driven friends crazy by justifying other’s behaviors such as that of my ex-boyfriend who has been harassing those I know over email. At the same time, I can also be having a huge emotional reaction – anger, hurt, sadness, etc. Both the justification and the emotions are a result of taking things personally and resisting the flow of life.
When I am flowing with life, I don’t need to justify anyone’s behavior. I can simply accept the actions that others take and choose how to react. I don’t need to create a story about what they are doing.
When I am flowing with life, I don’t have an emotional reaction to other’s actions. The reaction is caused by wanting things to be different than they are, by wanting people to behave differently.
When I am flowing with life, the actions become just like the rain and the green grass. I don’t need to justify why it is raining or why we have green grass. I am not angry at the drought.
When I am flowing with life, I easily accept the changes at Songbird. I am grateful for the time that the practitioners spent at Songbird and grateful for the opportunities that their leaving has presented us. Claire Niemiste and Jeffrey Edelheit put down roots at Songbird for a long time and now have decided to move on. Sibyl Star is finishing her one year astrology class and shifting to something new. Darien Gold found that Songbird wasn’t quite the right fit for her to plant her seeds. Karen Prosen had an unexpected crisis. While some of the endings were sunny, and some of them stormy, they were all part of the natural flow of life. These departures make room for Songbird to grow in new directions, and other practitioners are already starting to plant their seeds.