A mama duck and her eight little ducklings spend their days on an aceqia ditch close to my house. When I stop to watch them, I notice how nervous and aware the mother is, swimming around her babies and keeping a close eye on them. If I move toward her, she gathers them together and pushes them the other direction. She is very aware of my movements, engaging with me in a proactive way of protecting her babies so she is not forced to defend. It is hard for me to imagine how challenging it must be for her to protect her small babies.
As I witness her, I recognize my own need to protect certain aspects of myself and components of my life. For some of us, it is important to protect certain things of value: it might be time to meditate in the morning or for me it is keeping my time open for daily walks. It could be the need to protect Saturdays, not getting swallowed into a to-do list but just allowing the day to unfold in a flowing, easy way.
As I continue to pose the question of what I want to protect, I imagine myself with eight little ducklings. One represents my need to be in nature, walking and hiking. Another one is nourishing and being nourished by my plants and garden, and still another one is connection to others. And what about the other five? What things or components of myself are currently being neglected? This could be regular time for being creative or the weekly yoga class that I can’t seem to make.
It is not always easy to prioritize passions and self-care that benefit our well-beings. It may appear selfish, but as we maximize our own potential we benefit others to actualize their dreams and aspirations. And as we decide to carve out space to protect certain aspects of our life, we live more proactively; keeping ourselves balanced which improves our abilities to connect with others. It feels like if we want to be of greatest benefit to all that we love, follow our hearts, show up in love. Protect the ducklings!
What are your ducklings? The areas of your life, the parts of yourself that deserve protecting? This may mean you have to shift your priorities, waking up a little earlier, keeping an idea journal close at hand. What ever it is: your creative projects, your time, your humor, your desire to travel to Costa Rica, it all deserves you protecting it.