The Bees of Opportunity

Deep within the dark recesses of the little stone shed in the courtyard, a nest of bumblebees has set up home... buzzing fatly and busily, their tiny furry forms can be seen amid the flowers, working steadily from dawn until dusk.  The door of the little shed is kept locked, so we were at first puzzled as to how our bees came and went, but careful observation revealed a bee-sized chink between two ill-fitting glass pantiles in the roof.

Standing in the shed's open doorway this afternoon, I watched as the bees buzzed to and fro - emerging at ground level from behind a stack of boxes and climbing to their egress in the roof.  I was fascinated that none of them seemed to notice the open door; flying to within a few inches of it as they rose to their chink between the rooftiles. 

Often, in life, opportunities will present themselves to us just like that open door.  Whether we choose to see them or not is up to us - and if we fail to notice them, just like the open door, the opportunity will close and be lost to us.  Sometimes we continue to do things the same way because that is what we have always done, even if the choice may be an unuseful one for us.  When we open our eyes, it's possible to see that there are always options in how we choose to be.

The Teachings of Dog: No 16 - Being Present

My niece has finally found herself a lovely cottage with an equally lovely landlady who allows her to have her dogs.  So Poppy and Snippets moved to their new abode a couple of weeks ago and have now become part-time, visiting only at weekends and on Thursdays.  We find it very strange having such a sudden reduction in our canine members of staff; watching "House" is no longer the same without Poppy to bark at the end credits (and we still have no idea why!) but the other dogs have adapted seamlessly and appear perfectly content in their reduced numbers... and when their friends arrive at the weekend, it's as if they were never away.

We all adapt to change in different ways; for many it is a huge source of stress and anxiety.  The dogs demonstrate such a beautifully elegant behavioural flexibility; for them, what matters is what is happening right now and they react accordingly.  We spend so much of our lives being stressed about the past or anxious about the future, and often forget that the present moment is an antidote to that stress and anxiety.  What can happen when we allow ourselves to be totally in the Now; accepting what is, with gratitude, wonder and curiosity...?