Eagle

… while the mother-eagle
Hunts her same hills, crying the same
beautiful and lonely cry and is never
tired; dreams the same dreams,
And hears at night the rock-slides rattle
and thunder in the throats of these
living mountains.

Robinson Jeffers, The Beaks of Eagles

Silhouetted against the background of a forested Roaring Beach hill, this wedged tail eagle with its wing span exceeding nine feet (2.9m) makes light work of traveling the many miles between its nest and the hill top behind my house.

In alchemy, the eagle is portrayed as the ascension of the spirit from the prima materia, a way of describing how, when understanding separates from the chaos of emotion, it takes wing and can easily disappear into the ether. The alchemists believed that ascent must be answered by its opposite, which means that our loftiest illuminations must descend into integrated embodiment and be applied.

The Book of Symbols, Taschen

As my knees progressively wear out and the freedom associated with good mobility lessens, I can only stand and marvel with increasing envy this bird’s ability to transcend distance so easily and so elegantly.

Just possibly, my “grounding” allows for a slow seep of wisdom into my daily aspirations.

The opportunity here is to greet each day with a smile even while limping through it.

Another phrase I like is: “To walk our lament with praise”.