~ detail-oriented, small-minded, nit-picky, nervous ~
The mouse has an innate desire to tend to the details. It often spends its days fixing, preparing, organizing, and scrutinizing. Unfortunately, Mouse personality doesn't notice when they've gone too far. Soon they begin to have limited and fearful vision of life, and try to control every detail. This can be quite a painful experience for both the mouse and those around them. When mouse energy is at play, step back for a moment. It may be time to find a more purposeful project to delve into, one that's worthy of your exacting eye.
when in balance ~ organized, resourceful, prepared
when out of balance ~ busy with no purpose
to bring into balance ~ a meaningful project
Hi :) Welcome to week 11 of our yoga series based on the symbolism of the animal kingdom. Each creature represents a different aspect of our human journey, helping us to better understand and connect to our inner and outer worlds. Every 5 weeks in our yoga classes, we cycle through each of the 5 elements (earth, water, fire, air, space) and their respective animals in this card deck.
Last week, we completed our second cycle with the sea serpent of the space element. The sea serpent is a mother - she holds us, she protects us, and she encourages us to move towards our desires with love and passion. She provides the safety in which we can allow our hearts to open, so we can express freely and show up authentically, without restraint.
This week, we return to the earth element, which represents our relationships with fears and habits. Our teacher for this week is the mouse. She asks us to investigate (in regard to a certain area of our life, or as an overarching theme) if we are getting so caught up in the details, that we are losing sight of our goals. Instead of obsessing over the thing you can't control, how about diverting that energy to what you can?
When we really care about something, we devote a lot of time and energy to it. And how beautiful right? That's love.
But sometimes... at some point... all that attention we are giving to something, stops "working". So what do we do? We do what western culture has taught us - we try harder and HARDER.. more MORE!
But man, when that happens, there comes a time when it gets frustrating, obsessive, and we burn out... it gets emotional. We start to believe that we're not good enough because even though we are trying so hard, we're not getting our expected results. Not to mention, how much head space is taken up by all of our different strategies and analysis and angles to keep TRYING different, better, etc... it's kind of torture, huh?
Look at the gardens. Does a beautiful garden require work? yes! But it also requires patience... it requires space... the garden requires that you respect her process of growth. You cannot rush a flower to grow. Imagine your frustration - all in vain - if you were to TRY to make a natural flower bloom faster.
And now I get it... you just want that flower to be ready NOW. As we've learned on our human journey, what we want, even if it's for pure and loving reasons, is not always what we need. And it's also not all about us... what does the flower need? Trust that nature, that life, is always on time. Everything unfolds in perfection, and periods of not-doing are required. Give it space to breathe and grow.
So... how about while you're waiting for that flower to blossom, instead of spending your time and energy at war against nature, you redirect your energy to the other things that need you.
There's a passage in the Bible that says, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace."
Your love and desire to pour your energy into the things you are passionate about, or to pour your energy into the things in your life that you think you need to attend to or fix now... is so freaking amazing! You are desiring to grow and better your own life and the lives of those around you! We just need to balance that desire and good intention with respect. And that respect requires the understanding that we can only do what we can, and we must trust time and life's mysterious unfolding to do the rest. And in the meantime... this period of rest from scrutinizing over that thing, person, situation, etc., may be asking us to divert our attention to something else that has been neglected. It's all a game of love and balance.
Next week, the fish of the water element celebrates our "go with the flow" tendencies, but warns us that a nomadic lifestyle may lead us to become lost in life's currents with no clear goal.
dream extreme!
♡ kat
excerpts from my journal:
"In my journal this week I've written several times about honoring loss. In relation to the mouse card, when my results don't reflect my efforts, it feels like a loss. Not getting what I want is a loss. And loss is heartbreaking. When we experience loss in our lives, it feels like we are missing something. This week I've been reframing loss. What have I truly lost? The concept of loss is a recognition that there is more space. So really, loss is an opportunity. This doesn't mean to not mourn or feel the sadness that arises from loss... but just to not get stuck there... don't let loss harden you. Let loss open you... because loss is an opening. Let this newfound space invite in all of the things that didn't have room before. Just like the mouse card, that space allows us to redirect how we spend our time and energy toward the other things that are calling us. This just requires an open mind and a surrendered, trusting heart. You'll reflect on this experience of loss with wisdom, understanding, and gratitude."
Great post! Thanks for sharing!