This image with the quote, the donkey painting, and the shadow from the afternoon sun shining through my west window and reflecting onto the east wall of my kitchen really spoke to me.
Donkeys are at the top of my list as one of my favorite animals. It’s their sweetness and their need for love and affection that draws me to them, but it’s also their determination in taking a stand when they don’t wish to do something that I appreciate too.
There is also something so grounding about watching them take the same path they’ve worn down in a field to get to where they need to go. I always enjoy when Maria Wulf of Bedlam Farm shares videos of the farm and the animals and it’s especially the donkeys that I find myself mesmerized by when they walk from one section of the farm to another, along the same worn path.
I guess for me it’s about routine and familiarity that feels stable and calming when I observe the donkeys do this – and it’s rather like a meditation to just sit and observe this.
The “Let’s Stay Home” quote is one I saw in a magazine last year and then asked my sister to make me this sign. For me, staying home more during the pandemic wasn’t that big of a deal as I’m home a lot, to begin with. Though I did have my moments and sometimes still do as we continue to adapt and adjust. But being home and making our space a cozy nest has always been a high value of mine.
But I know this wasn’t the case for some and that’s when the shadow on this image came into play that had me contemplating how this all came together. For some, the shelter in place was a real challenge and it may have meant having to confront some shadow aspects that no doubt felt uncomfortable.
But I see the image of the shadow on the wall speaking to the fact that adjusting to something new or different takes time – see the reflection from the window on the wall and how it is sectioned off? I see this as adapting and adjusting is about just doing what we can, as we can, moment by moment and day by day (taking it one section at a time). And the shadow images of what sits on my window ledge are like new highlights that pop up along the way of things we discover about ourselves that bring a spark of joy or insight we’d not considered before as we move through this new way of being.
So as much as I love my home and being home often, I too have had to take certain aspects of all that has unfolded during this pandemic that has felt uncomfortable and process them as best as I can – one section at a time – one moment at a time. And there have been certain places within myself that I’ve felt a new shift, an accepting, a deeper calming, and expanded gratitude for the simple things. Now that’s a path I wish to walk until it’s well worn – just like the donkeys walk their path.
xo,
Barbara
