Snail School….
Okay here’s the deal… Maybe this is just a normal thing that happens in the PNW… but I gotta tell you, snails are everywhere here. And I love them. So slow, colorful, low to the ground…. And honestly the cutest thing is when Bella stops to smell them… she’s very gentle with them. Just sniffs, the snails retreat inward, Bella moves on, and when safe, the snail emerges.
I’ve noticed these amazing creatures over the last month or so… always noting the colors. But until the other morning I didn’t have my phone to fully capture all the colors and designs. Anyway, here is what has been coming up for me!
How often do we rush through a day without taking notice of the seemingly mundane things? The color of the trees from my office window, how my dog smells (snails) flowers and bushes… The ability to have a ‘childlike’ wonder evades many of us (I’m included in this at times) that we miss out on as we move into our adult years. But what would we feel, learn… be like if we kept that wonder….
The other thing I have been reflecting on is how this tiny little snail, moving so slow in its own cave has a consciousness just like I do. And that there is a part of this amazing creature that is just like a part in me. We are not separate from our surroundings; we are one with them. In Ayurveda we learn so much about the inputs in our life: food, fluid, breath and perception. The consciousness of these items then becomes the consciousness that sustains my human form. From this perspective, why would we not want to honor all the life all around us, all the time!
Recently, I completed a trauma informed yoga nidra training and one of the presenters shared this gem, ‘experience small moments of awareness many times in a day’. Sorta like microdosing on awareness.. This is a way that we can regulate our nervous system… we can drop into our body and also experience the connection we have with our environment. Checking out snails on my morning walk has been a way for me to microdose on the miracle of my environment.
A final reflection… in a quick search of snails and alternative meanings… snails can signify the ability to step out of your comfort zone and yet retreat inward when needed… Interestingly this idea of ‘carrying your home on your back’ comes up too… The snail has the ability to negotiate the right path forward.. To bring calm into the chaos of current situations and to venture towards new goals. Slow and steady, at your own pace. Here is how I apply this to my life…
In the last 8 months, I have moved 3 times. I started my own business in a new state and have seen people in a brick and mortar style office. I have started teaching yoga again, which has been such a gift. And the 3 classes I offer are all 3 different formats that what I’ve ever taught before. Moving and all that came before it, was very chaotic, stressful and emotional. And I now feel as though I have the calm to reflect more deeply on where I want to go- how do I want my life to feel and to take time to move forward. Slow and steady, like my snail friends.
Wishing you a slow, childlike, deeply aware day… in whatever you do!
