The circle of life
“From the day we arrive on the planet
And, blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round
It's the circle of life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
'Til we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the circle
The circle of life”
Do you recognise this song? It’s from one of my favourite movies and musicals: the Lion King. Watching the movie as a 7 year old has been a life altering event for me. Listening to this song, and watching the journey Simba made to find his own place in the circle of life, awakened something deep within me. A knowing, and for a long time, an anxious search, to find my own place in this world.
From that moment on, I knew I had something important to do, there was a reason for me being here and the most important thing in my life would be to find my place in the circle of life. For a long time, this passionate knowing made me feel anxious and paralysed to make any decisions. Each time I found myself standing at a crossroad in my life, I was afraid I would make the wrong choice and that I would never find my place. Obviously, the phrase ‘every road leads to Rome’ had not struck home for me yet.
For a long time, this place I was looking for, my place in the circle of life, had been about what I came here to contribute. I was frantic to find out what I had to do, say or accomplish to satisfy the feeling and urge to make a difference. There was always this underlying fear that made me move on to the next thing, the next place, searching and looking for something that felt just beyond the grasp of my fingers.
It was my greatest fear, to live my life and never find my place and do what I came her to do.
It’s funny how we can receive intuitive messages or guidance and sometimes take years to figure out what it actually means. For example, a few years ago I had a vision while meditating of a woman standing in front of me, on a beach, with the ocean being a wild and roaring body of water next to us. The ocean scared me, she scared me, but she told me not to be afraid, that I would find myself in the depth of the ocean. With my logical mind, I instantly booked a free diving course, thinking I would have to get over my fear of water and ‘find myself’ below the surface. It wasn’t until 4-5 years later, sitting quietly by a lake, when I realised that the ocean I was to plunge into hadn’t been a literal one, but the ocean of my emotions, which I had feared and avoided for so long that it had become a roaring and frightening entity (the one I had seen in my vision). By the time I realised this, my inner water had turned to a calm lake, only occasionally becoming a hurricane, something I was no longer scared of, having learned to ride the waves.
The same goes for the intuitive hit I felt while watching the Lion King at 7 years old. It took over 20 years to realise what my place meant. Over 20 years to realise it wasn’t a destination, it wasn’t a job or occupation, it wasn’t a person or a group of people, it wasn’t a skill learned and mastered, it wasn’t an identity to be taken on. My place had always been about finding me. The truth unfolded when I became aware of the interconnectedness between All That Is, that we are all part of a web of life, that every being has it’s own blueprint and unique essence to offer to the whole, resulting in a world of perfect balance and harmony.
My place had always been about being my most authentic, natural, unique and wild self. Not a wildness that causes destruction and conflict, but one that restores harmony and peace. I would find my place by being myself.
The urge to find my place, was the urge to embody my own unique blueprint. To honor and embody my most natural self, including my body, instincts, dreams and feelings. Because only then, could I contribute to the world that had been tucked into my heart for a long time, a world of beauty, abundance, joy, peace, harmony, unity and freedom.
Everything in nature exists in perfect harmony, because every plant, animal, mineral and element is living according to their own nature. If a lion becomes a vegetarian, if a spider stops spinning webs to catch flies, the balance will be disturbed. If we go against our own nature, because we are judging or suppressing it, we are disturbing the peace of this world as a whole. If we say yes when we mean no, if we live in a place that doesn’t inspire us, or work a job that leaves us feeling drained, if we don’t say what we wish to say or do what we wish to do, if we please others because we are afraid to be left alone, we don’t do this from the goodness of our hearts, but from a place of fear, and it actually does more harm than good.
In the perfect Circle of Life, everything exists in harmony when everyone is on their place, meaning being who they are meant to be: their authentic, unique selves. If we truly want to be of service and create a beautiful world, the most powerful thing we can do is to be ourselves. And this is easy! Just as an acorn holds the blueprint to become an oak tree, the blueprint of your soul is coded within your being. It is never lost, no matter how far away you feel from who you truly are. You know how to be your unique, perfect self.
Earth is calling us humans to come home and return to nature, especially our own nature: our feelings, our heart, our body. And our brothers and sisters from the plant, animal and mineral kingdom can show us the way to an authentic embodying of who we truly are, as they are already masters at this. There is a wisdom that speaks through nature that can bring us into connection with our own nature, our own inner knowing.
