Life lessons from a fuzzy friend stuck behind a windowpane
A big buzzy bumblebee trapped indoors—despite many open windows—reminded me of an important life lesson last week. It felt especially apropos of Earth Day qualities: compassion for all beings, physical and emotional resilience, and ongoing self-discovery.
I was at my partner’s family home in the German countryside, and with spring comes the sweet soundtrack of nature—literally the birds and the bees, sporadic rains and winds, kids playing and roosters crowing.
Enjoy my earth-inspired guided meditations: Qualities of Nature and Lake Meditation 🙂
As lovely as it is to crack open windows for fresh seasonal air, it inevitably invites a few winged guests. Insects seamlessly find their way in, but in spite of various escape routes and human efforts to help, they often struggle to find their way back out.
While I’m not exactly an indoor insect enthusiast, I do feel bad for them. Who wants to be stuck inside when home is just on the other side of a windowpane?
Enter the fuzzy bumblebee, whose loud buzz made me jump just as I was about to head out to the garden. I found it bumping into the kitchen window over and over, unsuccessful in its painstaking attempts to flee to the outdoor space it could see so clearly on the opposite side of the glass.
At first I considered letting it figure things out on its own, but something told me to be patient and lend a hand. I swiftly cracked open the window above the one it was trapped behind, and waited.
I kept saying, Just go up, it’s open, you’re so close! But the bee was steadfast in trying the same tactic, bouncing off the glass again and again, just a few inches below freedom.
Around this time, a metaphor clicked: We as humans can often feel like this bee.
Sometimes we work so hard to reach a goal or change a situation by trying the same thing on repeat with little to no progress. Even when the desired outcome is in sight—or we feel like we’re almost there—we still can’t seem to find our way.
But maybe if we paused—as the bee did after its tiresome attempts—and shifted our approach, tried things a little differently, or opted for a fresh perspective, we might realize that life has left a window wide open for us.
After a few short yet long minutes—and after sending telepathic encouragement to fly up and out—I opened the window a bit wider and the bee found its way.
I sighed with relief, bid it farewell, and was happy to see lots of happy bees bopping around the flowers in the garden.
Mindfulness Lessons from the Bee
Whenever we’re attempting something on loop and are struggling to make things work, we can turn to a few valuable reminders from this tiny teacher:
- Pause and take a breather. Don’t push to the point of defeat. Mindfulness helps us clearly recognize what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, and when to rest.
- Consider our direction. If what we’re doing is working, albeit tough: Have faith in the process. If not: Think of shifting strategies. Either way: Calmly carry on.
- Trust that Life / Universe / Creator (etc) has our back. Have certainty that a door is open for us, which we’ll see more clearly when we stop forcing and start listening.
Final Insights from Yogic Philosophy
Coincidentally after the bee incident, my Iyengar yoga teacher Nikki offered a poignant philosophical teaching in class along the same theme. The translation she shared from the Sutras is: Suffering that has yet to manifest is to be avoided.
My own takeaway was that—even if we have suffered or are currently hurting—we can potentially reduce future suffering by cultivating a balanced mindset and not letting our thoughts or attention sink deeper into our pain, which will only add more layers of it.
This is not to say we won’t ever experience challenges or that we must suppress our feelings—mindfulness tools can in fact teach us how to build the strength and awareness we need to feel and be with all emotions as they ebb and flow.
Practices like meditation and yoga asana, for example, teach us how to guide our attention to potential solutions (the open window) and more desirable outcomes—all while remaining open to possibilities and compassionately meeting ourselves where we’re at along the way, even if a situation is painful or undesirable.
This is how we avoid getting stuck in the suffering and flow forward by taking calm, conscious actions. We’re steering the ship and riding the waves, but we’re not sinking.
In Nikki’s words, “The body has to go through what it has to go through; we can add to our suffering if we are magnified by our thoughts.”
Thanks Mama Earth
Here’s to doing our best to learn from nature and ancient teachings—the true wisdom keepers—and moving forward with trust, resilience, and compassion for all beings.
Happy belated Earth Day—may we honor our Mother and celebrate Her all year long!
Ping me for free intro coaching sessions if you’re interested in developing personalized habits for your own sustainable mind-body wellbeing.
P.S. Try the yogic bee breath (Bhramari Pranayama) to boost your mood and calm anxiety.
Take good care,
S
No Comments