Grace and Gratitude

When these two elephants showed up on my canvas this morning, they made me laugh...they are goofy, playful, childish and joyful. This was a surprise, because I wasn't particularly feeling any of those things. In fact, I was feeling pretty serious - some news about my mom had me feeling anxious last night and I didn't sleep well. I will be taking an unscheduled trip to California on Thursday, so I had arrangements to make and appointments to re-schedule. 

According to www.shamanticjourney.com, "Elephants show us that by supporting and loving one another, our own ability to thrive in the physical world is enhanced. We learn from them to pass on the gift of nurturing we received in our early years, be it from our biological family or others who helped us grow into who we are now. We must honour the elders of our community and nurture the young. Like the elephant, we need to help ease the transitions of those who are going into adulthood with gentle love, wisdom, patience and compassion. By having open hearts and minds, we can create strong relationships within the community, therefore building a strong community."

I think of this in relationship to my mother, who, at nearly 93,  is our family's matriarch, I realize that some of my anxiety is seeing her become frail and unable to be the protector, counselor and caregiver that she was. And that she also feels the shift, and it is unnerving. It occurs to me that I need to help her with that transition with "gentle love, wisdom, patience and compassion" - all attributes of the Elephant.

As the elephants began to take shape on my canvas, I found myself relaxing into the creative process and focusing on what was happening right NOW. And the more I was present in painting, the more fun I had. I found myself smiling at the goofy elephants who came to remind me to be present and find the Grace in the shift and Gratitude that I am able to hop on a plane and be where I need to be.