A hummingbird told me to get my sh** together (well, sort of) [w/podcast link]
Prefer to listen than read? Here's my latest podcast all on this topic:
Are there things that make you crabby? I know I definitely have some of those! Did you know that the obstacles making us crabby can actually be a contribution?
Lemme explain...
Soooo... not long ago I had this pet peeve, which I'm not super proud to admit (especially since it's one of "those" petty first world problem sort of pet peeves), but c'est la vie, I'm willing to share it anyway in the hope it will help you...
Soooo... this pet peeve started with COVID when I noticed, while taking a walk with my kiddos around my neighborhood, that a decent amount of people weren't even attempting to stay socially distanced when it was clear our paths would soon intersect on the sidewalk. That would always leave the impetus on me to rearrange my route to accommodate them (either by crossing the street or pushing my stroller far into the grass), even when they were:
Bicyclists (dude, there's a whole other dedicated bike lane just for you, so why do I have to push my baby's stroller in the grass and coral my son to follow along and give up the sidewalk for you?)
Only one person (dude, why do I have to move my entire family when you can move waaaaay more easily since you're only 1 human and we are 3?)
Person with a dog (dude, don't dogs PREFER grass so why are you shoving me off the sidewalk when even your pooch would prefer the grass anyway?)
Joggers (again, you're one person, bro!)
So on a particular morning in the not-so-distant-past I was walking my daughter in her stroller like I usually do (my son was at his Dad's that day) and I saw a woman up ahead walking her dog. I could see that she was not interested in the slightest in moving out of the way for us, so (as per usual) I decided it best to cross the street to avoid her instead.
Given my pet peeve, it will come as no surprise to you that this made me a little crabby. Okay fine, more than a little crabby. In fact, I was so disgruntled I MAY have even mumbled something salty under my breath. (I did mention I'm not proud of this, right?) But alas, we crossed the street nonetheless.
As I quickly turned my daughter's stroller and felt the wheels pivot and hit the street's pavement, something in me clicked in that moment...
I realized that I was not in a receptive, receiving mode (which is essential to my preferred state of being...divine feminine flow)... so I was not being who I truly am (patient, kind, grounded, flexible, resilient, understanding, present, all the lovely things, etc.)...
I was slipping into some distant, older, more resentful version of myself. Especially since this was such a first world problem, I wondered why, of all things to get upset about, I was getting stuck on this.
So I started doing clearings for myself (it's great being an energy worker and coach since I can coach myself), which thankfully DID start to lighten me up a little bit...and no sooner had my little peanut and I crossed the street, than I just happened to look up at the perfect moment to see something absolutely beautiful.
Now, I've lived in the Midwest almost my entire life (with the exception of an 8 month stint in New Orleans 11 years ago) and I can only recollect seeing one of these small, majestic creatures once (twice tops) in all of these years...
What I saw was a beautiful little hummingbird flitting and buzzing about, tucked away in the top of a tree, situated just so this little damsel would have been impossible for me to see if I was still across the street on my original path.
I immediately got a goofy, knowing smile on my face as I recognized a truth in that instant... that woman with her dog was actually not an obstacle at all...she was a gift...because she refused to move she was actually putting me back on course and I didn't even know it (she didn't know it either). I simply wasn't meant to be on that side of the street in that exact moment... and because I would not have normally moved to the other side of the street of my own volition, this lady and her pooch were put in my path to nudge me back on track...why? So that I could witness this incredibly beautiful hummingbird (a symbol for joy in shamanism) to help me get my sh** together in the most expedient way possible so I could stop being a crabby, entitled, ungrateful version of myself and start being me again.
This interaction was so impactful that, not only did my resentment vanish in an instant, I slipped effortlessly into a sublime state of gratitude, ease and allowance.
When we stop getting in her own way... we can start realizing that every single thing from the dirty dishes to crying babies to somebody not getting out of our way during COVID that everything is happening for us, not to us. And the sooner we start to embrace this great weight off of our shoulders we will feel more free than we have in a very long time.
So if you are feeling particularly entitled, stuck, or crabby like I was (whether it's in one area of your life or many), I encourage you to do 2 things:
1) Ask the universe to show you something beautiful today. And if you're having a particularly hard time with your self-esteem, ask the universe to show you something beautiful about you today (works every time, thank you to Dain Heer of Access Consciousness for this tool); and
2) Start saying these mantras to yourself every single time you start to get tense or crabby..."What if this thing was happening for me and not to me? And what if this wasn't significant, this thing that I see as an obstacle or a problem? What if EVERYTHING is happening for me and not to me? What if this is all a gift?"
Because of this experience I was able to give up my resentment so completely and immediately that even when I encountered the exact same lady with her dog on the way back from my walk, all I could feel was gratitude for her...and since then I haven't gotten hot and bothered by people not moving for my kiddos and me! I still get to be me! Lovely Erin in her feminine flow enjoying the sunshine, trees, wind in her hair and giggles from her kiddos.
Thank you little hummingbird, I got my sh** together because of you and I'm better for it!
I WONDER...
Is there anything that makes you crabby that you're ready to infuse hummingbird's joy into instead? Drop a comment below and share if you do!
