The Circle of Life

Today I watched The Lion King.

There was something really beautiful about seeing the live-action version's depiction of nature, and how the elements within it interact in this complex circle we call life.

I was talking to a friend going through a really difficult situation yesterday, and it reminded me that a big source of our suffering comes from our linear thinking.

Society teaches us that, if A, then B happens.
Which is sometimes the case.

But there are always exceptions.

And what happens when we live life assuming that the way we see the world is a fact, is we look for evidence to confirm it.

And so all we see are the things that prove our beliefs to be true.
Which leaves us stuck in a self-feeding cycle that just makes our troubles feel bigger and bigger.

What I love about the circle of life metaphor is that it reminds us that life is hardly linear, never truly black and white.

That things operate on a much more complex plan than what we can even begin to grasp.
And that it works out better than we can ever plan.

And so instead of assuming,
and following our assumptions,
what happens if we stay open to possibility?
If we allow the circle of life to do its thing without having to understand all the details?

I find that reflecting on the unpredictable interconnectedness of nature primes our minds to be more receptive to a wider range of possibilities when it comes to the unfolding of our lives overall.

It reminds me of this part of the poem Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver:

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

"The world offers itself to your imagination"!

We are relational creatures, yet we've been conditioned to live inside the confines of our physical bodies and minds and forget our "place in the family of things."

And when we're reminded, our perception expands.
And life unfolds even more beautifully ahead of us.

So my reflection point for the day, and I invite you to join me if you wish, is:
Where do you find your place in the family of things today?