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Grizzly ©Robert Postma[/caption]
Did you ever consider taking a real break from the craziness of life? A hibernation, if you will? Winter is the perfect time for cuddling up with a good book and a hot cuppa. If your conscience makes you feel guilty about slowing down and doing nothing but resting and enjoying the peaceful quiet, look to the Grizzly Bear for Guidance.
Bears hibernate during the darkest and coldest times of the year. After a long summer and fall of working hard (hunting, gathering and eating), they find a safe, private cave, or a hole in the ground, and snuggle in. This is how they preserve their energy, rejuvenate, and even give birth: most cubs are born during hibernation!
This last fact points to an important benefit of elongated resting: Creativity. Downtime is essential to submerging ourselves in the caverns of imagination. When we spend time in those underground places, we give birth to new ideas and to the energy we need to implement these new ideas. What a time to create something beautiful, magical and groovy, and bring out for all the world to see in the light of the sun during the summer months.
Grizzly bears are part of the Brown Bear family, but live more in mountainous or interior regions, and consume less than their coastal brothers. Because food is not as readily available, they must be better hunters: sharpening their skills and getting creative. Grizzly represents self-sufficiency and finding innovative ways to solve problems and access resources.
Have you been trying to fulfill vital needs by foraging in dried up fields? Perhaps it's time to stalk happiness in a new way; to seek out fulfillment differently. Grizzlies appreciate what is handed to them: seed in a bird feeder; a termite nest in the forest; a garbage dump. Yes, one beast's trash is another one's feast. What have you been tossing away or taking for granted that others would give anything to have?
Like Grizzly, take the time out to contemplate your stock and re-focus on what you hunger for in 2014!
