For 23 years, my life has unfolded in the same way a bird's flight is influenced by the elements in which it flies. In spite of a bird's best effort and practice in flying, she is always, albeit sometimes imperceptibly to the naked eye, affected by the wind, the weather, the currents and the changes in temperature of her environment. The same bird who is focused on her nest and her tasks must also submit to the influence of the elements that delay or change her course. There have been times in these 23 years where my children have been my baby birds (safe under my watchful eye in our well- appointed nest) and there have been many times when they have been the buffeting wind that changes my course.
In all our phases of being together, this one when my last child has been safely installed in her freshman dorm and I fly back to my suddenly empty nest, is the one for which this blog is dedicated. I am writing it because I am mindful of how important these life transitions have been to shaping what will come to me next and in the future and so I pay special attention to this latest transition. I hope my meanderings from the perch of my own empty nest bring comfort, humor and maybe some courage borne of identification to my fellow mama birds, present, past and future.
I have named it “The Artful Empty Nest” to demonstrate my commitment to approaching my own empty nest creatively, mindfully and passionately. I move forward purposefully in gratitude to a Higher Power that has blessed me in more ways than I can repay by living gratefully. So, my empty nest affords me a chance to spend more time in different ways of service and this blog is my humble way of sharing with others now that my children don’t need me home and on call.
Perhaps you will join me in this journey or share your own experiences with me. Even if I stand like a bird on the edge of my empty nest looking out over a quiet expanse, it will still be a beautiful sight worth taking in and I am grateful for the reflection. From that place, I will sing my song. Rumi said “Let the waters settle and you will see the moon and the stars mirrored in your own being.” And so, I will let the waters settle.
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