Meandering Musings for Monday

Thoughts meander like rivers, their tributaries gathering ideas, insights and inspiration along their fluid course. We can get lost in the undercurrents hidden from the surface, but like rivers, one can only hope that these thoughts carry us to that ancient and enchanted destination – the ocean of wild stories and intricate waves of musings – the place where deeper understandings and great tales of healing magic are born.

In the midst of this weekend’s peacefulness, family time and Nature outings, the thoughts that have been meandering through my mind are ones of sadness for the 150 lives lost in the terror attack at Garissa University in Kenya. The senselessness of terror and destruction in a world gone mad just leaves a big hole in my heart. I will write more on this later in the week, but not today.

So instead (and since I don’t do to this often enough), I’ll share some links that have made for interesting meandering musings over the last couple of week:

Clouds are dreamy shapes-shifters and a soothing point of focus in those moments when I just lie on my back and watch them as I breathe mindfully, but I’d never thought of them as “great behemoth nomads” until I read this fascinating piece on Cloud Nomads by Sylvia over at The Indigo Vat.

Vanessa Carnevale is hosting a #Mindful Prompt Writing Challenge on Instagram. I always find her prompts to be fun and a great source of writing inspiration. So if you are looking for some sparks of writing inspiration, its worth following your lovely prompts.

Mary Reynolds Thompson, author of Reclaiming the Wild Soul, runs a great interview series called Wild Soul Stories. I really enjoyed listening to her interview with Sharon Blackie.

I loved reading Sophia Rose’s latest post, The Taste of Spring: Wild Onions. She’s included a couple of recipes too.

I’m featuring Stacey LL Couch on my blog later this week. Stacey’s interesting blogpost, Angel of Fiery Red Trees, gives some insight into her work.

Lastly, this short essay by Jeri Studebaker offers an interesting perspective on the suppressed history of Mother Goose ties in a Goddess link.

Wishing you all a happy Monday and a week full of blessings!

4 Tips to Prevent The Abuse and Neglect of Rabbits this Easter

I wanted to share some information on a matter close to my heart today.

Six months ago, the sweetest dwarf rabbit entered my life (that’s her in the photo/meme). Her name is Yarrow, and she stole my heart from the moment I saw her. Yarrow is such a gentle, loving and playful little creature. Yes, she has a mood swings, but for the most part she is a bundle of joy who just loves hopping and bolting around, exploring her surrounds and she really loves food too. Every time I send time her, my heart centre opens up and whatever stress that I’m carrying just melts away.

So it really broke my heart when I recently discovered that this time of year seems to spark a rise in rabbit abuse and neglect.

Why and how?

Because the Easter period is synonymous with chocolate, eggs, chicks and rabbits, live bunnies come across as cute ‘low maintenance’ gifts for friends, family and kids. The truth is that that rabbits need lots of loving care (petting, massaging, clipping their nails), hatches or cages to live in, food and veterinary care too. They grow and need space to move and play around in. Since they love to chew cords, skirting boards and any wood objects, your home needs to be bunny-proofed to keep them safe and prevent damage to your furniture.

Unlike hamsters, rabbits live up to 10 years, so keeping them is a long term commitment. Under favourable circumstances where the recipients of these animal companions want and are able to care for them, they are indeed great ways to add some joy to someone’s life. But unfortunately it seems that many people don’t anticipate what raising a rabbit involves, so as soon as the novelty wears off, these poor little fellows are neglected and often dumbed in open spaces. Domesticated rabbits are vulnerable to injury, predators and disease. Left outside to fend for themselves, they are attacked by cats, dogs, owls and get run over by cars in many cases.

The thought of these gentle creatures suffering in this way makes me really sad. Humans abuse animals and Nature in so many ways. It is important that we think our actions through and be more cognizant of how they affect our animal friends and the Earth.

So if you are considering gifting someone a rabbit (or chick or duckling) this Easter, I urge you to think twice. Here are some tips to prevent the abuse and neglect of rabbits and other animal companions too:

  1. Do not give rabbits or animals as gifts unless you are certain they will be properly cared for: It’s best not to give someone a rabbit if they do not want it or will not be able to care for it properly. Do your research. Find out what kind of care the rabbit needs. Talk to people first before giving them one to see if they have the space, facilities and time to keep a pet rabbit.

  1. Don’t dump rabbits. Find them a new home: Rabbits are not toys to be cast aside when the novelty wears off. If you have a rabbit that you cannot keep or no longer want, find it a new home. There may be some kind-hearted people who are looking for new pets or who are willing to take the rabbit in. Advertise in the classifieds. Or find an animal shelter that could help.

  1. Hold people accountable for their actions. Report animal abuse: One way to discourage animal abuse and neglect is to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable. Talk to people about their actions and let them know that what they are doing is cruel and unkind. We all need to be considerate and behave in a responsible manner. If this doesn’t help, it may be worth reporting them to your local animal abuse authorities.

  1. Support animal rights groups, rescues and shelters: It’s always inspiring to know that people dedicated to making a difference. We can support them in continuing to do so by making positive contributions. Whether it’s by making a donation, volunteering your time and skills or being of services in some other way, every little bit counts.

Bunny Love

Keepers of the River

My husband and I took a walk down to the river in my neighbourhood yesterday morning. A chilly breeze blew off the water. It smelt of autumn. The sun hid behind the grey clouds, peeping out here and there to comfort the earth with its warmth. I stood on the river bank and let the soothing sound of the flowing water carry me to a tranquil inner sanctuary of stillness.

There are times when I’ve put my feet in river water just to see what it’s like to be a river rock, the coolness of the flowing wetness rushing over my skin. It’s so refreshing and a part of me wants to flow with it all the way to the end of its course just to feel the joy of the river’s journey. To be part of the mysteries that it carries with it.

Flowing water is liberating somehow. I’m aware that on a metaphysical level, it’s is said to break up stagnant energy. In my experience I find this very true because when l relax into the vibration of flowing water, I sense myself coming unstuck. I love knowing that this river is there. This little piece of wildness meandering amongst domesticated constructions of city life the way my wild essence meanders within. It takes me back to the that place of freedom in my childhood, when I lived in rural Kwa-Zulu Natal and my cousin and I used to go down to the river and play. Those were such blissful times of simplicity.

When we crossed the bridge to the other side of the river, we saw a pair of African black ducks – a monogamous pair bound as life companions for eternity. They are a species of river ducks that nest in the riverine forests. They are like keepers of the river who are always sailing the currents and they rarely stray away from their watery home. The black ducks prefer the fluidity of rivers and rapids more than the placidness ponds and lakes like most other ducks.

Over the past year, I’ve spotted numerous pairs of these black ducks in various rivers and Nature spots within and on the outskirts of the city. This is the first time that I’ve seen them close to my home, so it felt like an encouraging sign somehow. It’s as if they are following me. I like the idea of these ducks watching over the wild flowing river and listening to the language of the water. I imagine them as keepers of its ancient stories, recording in their hearts all the wisdom that the river has to tell.

Yesterday, I remembered that the African black ducks are cousins to the mallard who are spiritual symbols of grace, commitment and protection. They are connected to our emotional body, the watery feminine element and Goddess too. Some ancient African tribes believed that they were rainmakers, carrying the wetness of Goddess’s love and tears under their wings. That’s a beautiful thought, although I suspect this is because we are more likely to see them around the rainy seasons when the rivers are flowing.

I haven’t been going there as often as I could. I’ve been exploring different Nature spots elsewhere. But having re-connected with spirit of the river, I feel the need to make time to visit there more often. I know that the river and its keepers have wisdom and healing to offer me. And who knows, perhaps I have something to offer it too.

African Black Duck