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Each day, I have been heading to the creek at sunset to see if I can catch sight of the swans and their baby cygnets. Every evening, they greet me at the marsh edge. Last night, sitting on the dock, the larger of the two swan hissed and almost stood on the surface of the water, naturally, protecting the babies from potential danger from the interlopers that came bearing gifts of bread.
Nature is at play in every moment. I have slowed way down to actually notice the unfolding of nature in this beautiful new season. I have witnessed the birth of the next generation, watching the baby signets begin to venture out just a little further than just a few days ago. Feeding the daddy swan the other day, I was close enough to notice a grasshopper taking a ride on his back wing, waiting patiently for him to finish his pause at the dock to venture down the creek for an evening stroll.
In years past, I was too busy to watch the spring unfold. Now, I find myself wanting to do nothing but be with nature and be her student.
My new animal teacher, of course, is the swan. As I was opening my recent purchases of old, used books from the Friends of the Library book sale, I surprisingly came across a tattered and worn book, Swan Song. I don’t exactly know why I chose to place that book in my bag. Most of my other books had to do with something that I have interest in reading, such as, The Ascent of Man, and World’s Best Scriptures.
This book had a different feel to it. The book itself has its own history. The card, still present on the back inside cover shows the long-ago route that it took between library and readers’ homes, dating back to 1940. Its scent reminds me of the smell of the library that my Nana and I used to frequent down the street from her house on Abington Ave in Rosalyn, PA. I first learned the love of reading when I went to live with Nana and Pop-Pop for some weeks during my summer vacation. We would walk down the block to the small library and I would check out Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries. Nana was not necessarily the maternal nurturing type, but she did nurture the academic in me.
I always wonder if I was more influenced by nature or nurture. Being adopted, and not knowing much about my biological family, the only thing I can do is to unfold stories through creative imagination of the characteristics of my birth family, and how I am who I am because of the genetics that were accidentally passed my way.
I was given “non-identifying information” that was handed to my parents when they first took me home at the age of 8 weeks. So, my story begins with the fragments of pre-life escorting me into the new family who agreed to love me and nurture me for my the remainder of my life. My birth mom had a passion for creative writing. My paternal grandfather was a highly educated theologian. Perhaps my nature has been nurtured all along.
The siddhas, sages and scriptures of spiritual philosophy speak of dharma…our life’s purpose. It is proposed that our spirit chooses the manifestation of this lifetime…in essence, we choose the family to be born of, and the life that will support our spiritual realization in this incarnation. As I venture each step into my dharma, I do know that I have chosen the right path. My life is a mystery, unfolding forwards and backwards at each stage.
As spring continues to show her mysteries, this time, I am enjoying the gifts of the stillness, the contemplation, the artful way that the divine spirit springs forth, granting me insight into my nature and the nature that surrounds me. No longer does it have to be one aspect against another. Instead, within nature, we see the nurture, like the swan stretching her wings and protecting her young.
To be reminded of the lessons of grace of the swan, I placed a crystal swan on my altar. Yesterday, it was bolstered by my new old book, Swan Song. It was sitting just high enough so that the afternoon sunlight poured through the window above my altar. As it did, the sunlight created tiny rainbows that drenched my home, reminding me of the beautiful spectrum that comes when I take time to slow down and see what is within.
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In metaphysics and according to Animal Speaks by Ted Andrews, the swan teaches us to awaken to our inner beauty and power which is love. As you realize your true self, you acquire the ability to bring your spiritual desires to physical form through manifestation. It also teaches you how to see the inner beauty within yourself and others regardless of outer appearances. When we are capable of this we become a magnet to others. Swan energy helps us blend the spiritual and physical to create all that our heart desires. It teaches the mysteries of song, poetry, music & art for these touch the child and beauty within.
