This afternoon I came upon a riveting video of a squirrel rescuing another squirrel from a snake. As I watched, my heart in my throat, rooting for the squirrels (out-loud!), unable to turn away, I suddenly saw it, clear as day: the Life animating the snake was the same as the Life in the squirrels (and the tree and the ground et al.).
The peace of that moment: a deeply visceral knowing that all of the rollercoaster ups and downs in life, all of the excitement, the terror, frustration, anger, giddiness, missteps, strife and hurt…is okay to feel. All of it is the very real struggle of the snake and the squirrel—the action not only feels like life or death, it is.
But…
Pull the camera back: the struggle, the joy, the horror, all of it… is LOVE—is Life experiencing itself in this fantastic play of light and dark, good and evil, growth and stagnation, winning and losing, life and death.
Life is the hand in the puppet, playing all the parts, masterfully weaving such a multifaceted, layered, fascinating tale…that again and again, we root for the “good-guy” (or the “bad guy”—snakes have to eat too) and can’t look away. The snake appears to be playing his part, as do the squirrels. As do we all—from dust mite to river stone to forest mist to you and me.
We self-proclaimed “spiritually-minded” humans often try to remind ourselves and each other that none of this is real—and it isn’t (and also it is), and thus warn against or attempt to remember not to get too emotionally involved or invested (which actually is not necessarily incompatible with non-attachment: many confuse suppression with non-attachment—can you imagine the squirrel—or any mother—not trying to save the life of their loved ones?)
So here’s the message from the squirrels and the snake to myself and to you: don’t feel bad or un-evolved for becoming engaged in Life’s drama—that’s what it’s there for.
What a relief.
And…bravo, Life. Bravo.