A long time ago, in a land very closeby, a little duckling hatched from his former egg-home. Without any sign of warning, he slowly heard his home that had offered him comfort since the beginning of his awareness crack. And through the cracks, something peculiar appeared. Out of nowhere, there was sight. Sight of something remarkably beautiful. But to our little duckling friend, the same sight was met with horror. To him, sight was an aspect of experience unknown to him. He was used to darkness, used to hearing the comforting sounds of some mysterious source keeping him warm. But never had he imagined that this peculiar phenomenon would one day be part of his experience.
He didn't trust the light, it was uncanny and desorienting and he wanted to crawl back to the comfort of darkness he trusted so well. But the more he struggled to stop his home from cracking open, the bigger the cracks that started to appear, leading to even more rays of light shining through. Feeling waves of frustration and grief move through him, he started to fear that this would be his end. The end of a life of warmth and comfort. The end of what he known himself to be.
As he finally gave up on his struggle, surrending himself to his death that would surely follow, his entire home cracked open with a bang and above him appeared a remarkable round ball so bright his eyes couldn’t stand it. But even when he averted his eyes, he felt the warmth of the rays touching his feathers. Is this then the end? He asked himself. While pondering on the question, the sight before him started to become clearer. In it, a beautiful being appeared. As sweet sounds touched his hearing, he became certain that this being was the source of warmth and comfort he heard in his former home. And with that, a glimmer of trust fell over him.
In that moment, he understood that this was not the end. It was a new beginning. The egg-form he used to be had now made way for another. One he wasn’t familiar with, leading to feelings of fear and great desorientation. But as time evolved, our little friend started to trust his new reality. And with that, feelings of joy and love started to arise. Not because his desires were met, just because he was so grateful for experiencing the feeling of being alive. He now knew that he could trust this marvelous freefall that life is, including everything it had to offer.
The End (or beginning, depending on how you look)
Have you ever seen birth in real life? Most of us see death as a negative phenomenon while perceiving birth as positive, while truly, can one make that distinction? Both are part of endings of old forms, giving way to something new. A while ago I had an online meet-up with the small intimate psychospiritual group I’ve been seeing for a year now. And in that meet-up one of my beloved friends (you know who you are) told us that this would be the last session for her, feeling that it was time for her to move further. As tiny as this message may seem, the group was overcome with grief, because the form that it had been now had to end and make way for something new.
It is really in those moments. Those moments of saying goodbye to a loved one after a wonderful holiday together, those moments of giving a beloved a hug just before they pass away, those moments of endings, of mini-deaths. In those moments, we feel both the vulnerability of and gratitude for our existence so deeply that our hearts are broken open beyond understanding. Perhaps it is death, that makes us feel alive. Perhaps endings are necessary, in order to be reborn to a different form.
Let us end with a video of an actual birth/death, and we might see the process from a different light.
With love,
Pim
If you like this short story, you could share it with a friend;)