Re-defining Sucess - response

I just witnessed a beautiful Red-tailed hawk successfully negotiate a windy landing atop a tree. In watching its beautiful choreography, it crossed my mind that I was one individual watching the autonomous actions of another individual. I believe this vein of thought could use regular consideration by humans - as our quest for NEW and for feelings of authority over our own existence can easily overshadow the quests of others. As we, in our journeys, coexist with others that do not have the power or desire to congest our success, we must tread carefully in our own growth, so that growth and prosperity may be shared. It is, perhaps, an apt moment to redefine what success is to us.

Greetings friends :) This go-round, we are taking a moment to understand our ideas of success. Societal, personal, mental, physical, communal. How do we define success when we are looking at it on behalf of a larger ecological community than simply ourselves? How do we normalize self-consideration within a community? What truths must we face from past and present trends that may not serve us going forward? We started this conversation months ago - before the pandemic really took hold and how apt a question it has become.

I have found it endlessly intriguing - the human capacity for self-reflection and growth from a foundation of intellectualism. We are able to almost extricate ourselves from our vulnerabilities by expanding on what is 'natural' to us and dwell in a world that we fabricate towards an ends of efficiency and profit and abstractions well outside of the most fundamental surviving. It would seem that this set of skills would ally us strongly - with a wisdom of checks and balances, however I find that often to be untrue. The wisdom that it takes to live in balance with the environment around us, the beings in that environment and among ourselves - seems to take a slowing down that is hard to accomplish in this new aggregate lifestyle.

I look for transparency in systems that affect me - where does my food come from? how is my clothing sourced? what energy am I using to get places, heat up, cool down, run the house, my life? It certainly feels overwhelming to try to see all of these systems and endeavor to influence them from our little corners of the universe. We are beginning to se shifts in these systems to unveil themselves as scrutiny is becoming more and more the norm and businesses are taking on more of the responsibility to understand their OWN supply chain reality.

In regards to nature beyond societies and technologies, how can we learn to understand our place in the nature of this planet? I beckon to you to get lost somewhere near you..... whether out your window if you are stuck inside, or in the neighborhood if you can tread a bit further... If you can go yet further abroad, I ask you to meet a mountain or a stream or a hillside that you have never met - and sit and observe, or wander and listen. You will begin to understand sides of yourself you have neglected. You will come to face the restlessness you may have become accustomed to by staying too busy. The irony of this may stun you.

As you observe the terrain and the creatures and plants around you, try to learn about them at your own pace - without asking Siri and Google. You can learn things for yourself. Make observations that you can later fact check at home..........but give yourself the old fashioned, lost art of LETTING YOUR MIND WANDER - - and sitting with it. I think success buds from moments like this. Understanding our fundamental nature and honoring its own pace will offer you something unspeakably powerful - a knowledge of your true skills and weaknesses - without little tests or professional assessments. Where is north? Why are you so tired? Why is sitting here and observing the birds boring or exciting or frustrating or..........................?

Strip your valuation of success back to the most basic level and take the world in. It is beautiful in so many ways- and extraordinary. Too, there are things you may observe, that will disappoint you and perhaps you will want to turn your cheek. Reality is not monolithic.

Sarah