The Art of Letting Go

My daughter as of recent, has been attracting these small baby animals who need care shortly before they expire. The first was a baby bunny that had the imprint of a large bird in its side. She tended to it by carefully putting on plastic gloves and scooping it up to put in an old spinach box that she and my son lined with grasses and even a few baby carrots. She then, checked on it frequently, feeding it tiny drops of water from a medicine dropper. Unfortunately, the bunny soon died and she respectfully gave it a proper burial near the pond by our house.

This made me start thinking about what we tend to in our own life and then let go when the time is needed. Kids seem to have a better grasp on this process and I was amazed to see how this worked for them. The second baby animal to find its way to her was a bird. We were surprised by this considering it’s officially fall here in Minnesota! It did not look injured only stunned as if it was practicing its “take offs” from the nest.

She knew how to pick up this baby with a hand on top and hand below so that it would not hop out from her hands. I reminded her that it is best to leave it where we discovered it so that it could return home as needed. So we left with optimism, and returned to find that it did not make it either.  I started explaining why baby animals are lucky to make it a year and how hard they have to work to survive.  I was a bit worried about how she would handle it. But, just like the bunny we decided that its best to toss it back into the brush so that it can be recycled into the earth to repeat the cycle of death and rebirth.

The lesson of patience and caring for something with not knowing the outcome, is what I was reminded of with these experiences. Nurturing, caring, giving and letting go. I admired her confidence in the natural cycle and order to life that is hard not to want to control or resist out of change or fear. Fear, that if we bury what we hope for or treasure most that it will be lost forever. I like the idea of living this process of nurturing, caring and trusting that the universe will support our efforts but that a natural order is in charge.

Discovering the treasure of finding a baby bunny or a small bird is something we know as children. Feeling this connection to something greater than ourselves is something to try and reconnect to as much as possible.  Finding a treasure, tending to it for a short while and then giving it back.