Friday 28 February 2014

There is a duck inside of you!

This morning was proving to be less than calm, less than peaceful, both in my mental landscape and in my surroundings. As I went about my morning getting ready routine I felt surges of excitement, anger, frustration; anything but peacefulness, nothing akin to certainty.

Don't get me wrong, I like uncertainty. It provides opportunity for growth and expansion, but it isn't always pleasant. I realized that Xavier was also feeling some emotions this morning as I entered the living room. He had been asked to get dressed, maybe even with some sternness at this point. He exclaimed, "Nothing is real! My dada is not real! My mama is not real! Not even I am real!" We are talking serious 5 year old existential crisis. I glanced around and noticed The Essential Rumi lying on the coffee table. As we have recently developed a habit of asking Rumi for help, I declared: "Wait! Let's see if Rumi can help us!"

I raise the book above my head, uniting with the wisdom therein and feeling where exactly to open the book. I even place my finger upon the page before reading whatever passage comes forth. And here is what we learned:

There is a duck inside of you.
Her bill is never still, searching through dry
and wet alike, like the robber in an empty house
cramming objects in his sack, pearls, chickpeas,
anything. Always thining, "There's no time!
I won't get another chance!"

A True Person is more calm and deliberate.
He or she doesn't worry about interruptions.

But that duck is so afraid of missing out
that it's lost all generosity, and frighteningly expanded
its capacity to take in food. (66)

It was perfect for me, as a message to reflect upon. And it was perfect for all of us, as we started laughing at the idea of having a duck inside of us and all began quacking, pecking and playing around!

On the road to becoming a "True Person," whatever that might mean, I will consider my actions more mindfully, more deliberately. I am often impulsive, maybe because I fear that I will miss out, that I won't get another chance. 

There is a duck inside of me. There is a duck inside of you? And together we might quack!