Finding the Front Door

ENJOYING THE GREAT OUTDOORS

A few weeks ago I spent a couple of days house-sitting in a friend's quiet, secluded cabin in the Hill Country near Wimberley. Other than feeding her two dogs and three alpacas twice a day, I had no responsibilities, no schedule and nothing to do but spend time writing, meditating, playing guitar and walking outdoors. My idea of heaven on Earth...

STUCK INDOORS

Weather permitting, my friend likes to leave the doors wide open so her dogs have free access to the house, so that's what I did, too. One morning, I arose to find a sparrow had flown in through the front door of the screened-in porch, and was careening from screen to screen, desperately trying to get out. It was painful to watch the bird, scattering feathers again and again as it darted from corner to corner, beating up against the screen over and over, trying to escape.

TRYING FOR MORE

At first I tried to help, but it was way too fast and too frightened for me to catch by hand, nor did it appreciate my clumsy efforts to gently shoo it toward the open doorway with a broom. The porch is only about 12' x 15', and the doorway is 3' wide, so seen from my perspective as an observer, it didn't look like it should be so hard to escape. But, rather than backing up and seeing the wide opening available, the bird just kept moving frantically from side to side, smashing into the same barriers over and over.

FINDING THE DOOR

Feeling helpless, I finally walked outside and watched from a distance as the sparrow continued it's relentless assault against the wire mesh. It was really sad to watch, in part because it reminded me so clearly of the times that I've found myself feeling trapped by circumstances in the past, feeling like there was no way out - when, in fact, there was always an alternative, an open door that was readily accessable, once I stopped frantically going around in circles long enough to pause, step back and put things in perspective.

As we move forward into the New Year, my wish for myself and for you, too, dear reader, is that we might see the openings, rather than the barriers that may appear to impede us on the path toward inner peace and outer freedom that we are traveling.

With blessings and best wishes for a Happy, Healthy New Year,

Rudi

PS: If you live in the San Antonio area, I invite you to join me in starting the New Year on a positive note at this concert. I'd love to see you there!

Rudi + the Rudiments + Sarah Gabriel in Concert

Saturday, January 2, 7:30pm

Join Sarah and Rudi as they perform a concert of their heartfelt songs of affirmation and exploration over the lively rhythms of Kevin Lewis (bass) and Kiko Guerrero (percussion) in the intimate acoustic setting of Jump-Start Performance Co., 710 FREDricksburg Rd, 78201. Tickets are $15 and seating is limited. Click here for tickets!