Taking Life in Stride

[entwife]

Through rustling leaves and waving fields,
Dainty and graceful
against the sky they are etched…

“Wisdom comes when Balance
between head and heart is stretched.
With eyes steady on the horizon,
our stride is great!

Whether we are contemplative or merely puzzled,
light and dark dapple us in their grand debate.
We all move through awkwardness to grace…
Listen!

Live as only you can, and Truth is embraced…
Silence is golden, and with feet firmly planted
we may soar to heights where, from every direction,
even tomorrow may be seen…

Feasting where smaller souls might starve,
Wrap your spirit tongue
around each thorny consideration.
Stand tall but,
Bend rather than break.
Shun complacency,
see far and trust your own intuition.

Live true that powerful visions will be granted.
Gentle and balanced, we live in freedom serene.
Feed from the highest wisdom on Life’s great tree,
and you too may learn to live like me!"


~~~ Each of my singing poems is inspired by a Teacher found in Nature; a star, stone, plant, animal, etc that holds lessons of Wisdom for us. I recently added a verse to this piece that many found difficult to guess when originally posted, highlighted in blue. Does anyone remember who is singing here? And does the additional verse help call this Teacher to mind? As always, all feedback is welcome

[RandallS]

Through rustling leaves and waving fields,
Dainty and graceful
against the sky they are etched…

I'm drawing a complete blank (big surprise, I'm sure). However, I have to say it is really good to see these on our new board!

[Sage]

Glad these are here! I love your poetry. Roses? Thistles?

[Star]

I'm going to guess giraffe, based on all the height references and the dappling.  But I'm not really sure about that.

[entwife]

I'm going to guess giraffe, based on all the height references and the dappling.  But I'm not really sure about that.

 
Well done! You are the first to guess this amazing Creature Teacher I greatly appreciate the feedback, thank you! I hope you also enjoy the little informative bit on this Teacher.

[entwife]

I'm drawing a complete blank (big surprise, I'm sure). However, I have to say it is really good to see these on our new board!

You can't guess them all, dearheart. Gotta leave some for others ;o) I know all my singing poems are still available in read format at the old forum, but really wanted to have at least one available here too. Glad you are happy to see them too!

[entwife]

Glad these are here! I love your poetry. Roses? Thistles?

I don't believe I've written a song for Thistle yet, so I've added it to the list of Teachers waiting for a song. I have a lovely Thistle that sprouted up this year. It's taller than me! I love watching the goldfinches collecting thistle fluff for their nests. Anyway, whenever you are guessing at one of these singing poems always check the tags as I leave a clue there. (mammal in this case) So glad you've been enjoying the poetry, Sage and greatly appreciate the feedback, thanks!

[entwife]

Through rustling leaves and waving fields,
Dainty and graceful
against the sky they are etched…

“Wisdom comes when Balance
between head and heart is stretched.
With eyes steady on the horizon,
our stride is great!

Whether we are contemplative or merely puzzled,
light and dark dapple us in their grand debate.
We all move through awkwardness to grace…
Listen!

Live as only you can, and Truth is embraced…
Silence is golden, and with feet firmly planted
we may soar to heights where, from every direction,
even tomorrow may be seen…

Feasting where smaller souls might starve,
Wrap your spirit tongue
around each thorny consideration.
Stand tall but,
Bend rather than break.
Shun complacency,
see far and trust your own intuition.

Live true that powerful visions will be granted.
Gentle and balanced, we live in freedom serene.
Feed from the highest wisdom on Life’s great tree,
and you too may learn to live like me!"

“Whosoever wishes to know about the world must learn about it in its particular details. Knowledge is not intelligence. In searching for the truth be ready for the unexpected. Change alone is unchanging. The same road goes both up and down. The beginning of a circle is also its end. Not I, but the world says it: all is one. And yet everything comes in season.” Heraklietos of Ephesos



“Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional, and mental states.” Carol Welch


“It's difficult to be an evil herbivore. I am an evil giraffe, and I shall eat more leaves from this tree then perhaps I should, so that other giraffes may die. "~ Eddie Izzard






Giraffe is the tallest mammal and the largest ruminant in the world. Males stand about 19 feet tall and females around 17 feet. Their ability to see so far while remaining firmly planted upon the earth indicates that Giraffe people also have the ability to see ahead and in all directions. Giraffe people excel at intuitive leaps and thinking outside the box, and are often powerful clairvoyants. Like other ruminants (deer, cattle, sheep, goats, etc), Giraffes chew and regurgitate their cud as part of the digestive process. This indicates a need to take time in digesting new information, as well as the general input sensitive Giraffe people receive from the Universe around them.

Giraffes, once called cameleopards, are very unique creatures. Like camels, they can go for long periods without drinking (something like two weeks!), and Acacia leaves, which make up most of a giraffe’s diet, have a high water content. Giraffes are at their most unbalanced and vulnerable while bending low to drink, or curled around themselves while sleeping on the ground. Giraffes actually need very little sleep too. In fact, they have the smallest sleep requirement of any mammal. They sleep only as little as 10 minutes or as much as two hours over a 24 hour period! These qualities indicate that people called by this Teacher may also run well on less sleep than the average. Giraffe people are at their most unbalanced and vulnerable when they take their eyes off the horizon, when they let down their guard to relax, and when they participate in emotional events or behaviors.



Giraffes can appear both graceful and awkward. They can wrap themselves into an amazingly small package when laying down, and when they rise from this position to their full height, the transformation is most startling. Giraffes are not Territorial creatures and their herds are loosely associate, constantly changing. A given herd may be made up of any mix of bachelors, males, females, young or elders at any time, nor are there are specific leaders. Balanced Giraffe people are sociable, and not exclusive. They often require less sleep, and like to spend their time creatively; their natural restlessness does not necessarily translate into nervous behavior or a drive to work.



Giraffe people treasure individuality and creativity, but are not given to extroverted displays. They often feel that their closest relationship is with their children, and they are very loving parents who are not distressed by their children’s independence. For all their individuality, Giraffes are herd animals though… it’s just that a giraffe is comfortable at distances of a 1/2 mile from other giraffes in their herd! Giraffe people like personal space, enjoy silence, and know that everyone moves through stages of clumsiness before they become graceful. Movement is good therapy for Giraffe people; dance, martial arts, or some form of exercise helps to keep them grounded, so that they may progress spiritually. Giraffe’s silence is reminder to keep our ears open and our own mouths closed.

Water is the first Medicine and the greatest gift to Life as we know it. Giraffe reminds us to be respectful of life-giving water, to conserve, to use what we take most efficiently, and also to understand the Balance needed in life when we look at this element within our own lives. Giraffe people are sensitive to begin with, for example, and indulging ourselves in overly emotional behavior is an easy destructive trap to fall into. The giraffe’s 18" long blue or black  tongue is specially designed for gathering leaves from the thorny Acacia tree. It is believed that the blue coloring protects their tongues from the sun as they gather their 75 lbs of food per day from the highest branches of the trees around them.



Blue is also the color that symbolizes the element of water, the Spirit world, spiritual lessons, truth, psychic powers, moderation and peace; all of which are important to Giraffe people. Black is the color of wisdom, life, death, balance and mystery. Are we saying too much, or to the wrong people? Are we remaining silent when we should speak up? Are we allowing the words of others to cause us to react rather than take proper action? Are we encouraging destructive behavior by allowing others to speak inappropriately? Are we shaping thought, word and deed into a harmonious whole? Are we refusing to recognize truth in our lives? Are we resisting change, being too complacent, or refusing to look ahead? Are we talking just to hear our selves?

Giraffe can help us answer these questions. The Acacia is one potential balancing energy for Giraffe, and is worthy of study by those who feel called by this Teacher. Other ruminants as well as the Okapi, the nearest relative of the Giraffe, should also be studied along with any regular predators like Lion or Crocodile. Okapi emphasizes the lessons of camouflage, living in harmony, polarity, and letting go of the need to react.

The leopard-like jigsaw pattern of Giraffe coats is individual to each, and will remain constant throughout their lives, although coat conditions can change drastically. Their coloring can be pale yellow, gold, earthy orange, reddish brown, or even black, and it is an amazingly effective camouflage. It’s got to be good to hide an 18’ tall being against a sparse landscape! Looking at the meanings behind the particular color of your Giraffe may give you greater insight, as can the numeric symbology of the number of horns, or ossicones they have. Giraffes are one of the few horned creatures that are born with their horns!

In a Totem, horns are an indication of innate sensitivity, spiritual, intuitive and divine connections, as well as clairvoyant or visionary qualities. Female giraffe horns are more slender and tufted, but the horn tops of the males are soon worn smooth from their sparring. They both develop more ossicones as they mature, the most common being located at the third eye chakra point, with the possibility of two more at the back of the head for a full crown of five ossicones. The long necks of giraffes have many valves that help pump blood to their elevated heads, and regulate the blood flow from their large hearts to their heads as they move about. Study of all Chakras (particularly Throat) is beneficial, but it is understanding and maintaining a balance between chakras that is the real goal. Giraffe people should also beware any circulatory, heart, or knee/foot problems, as well as problems in perception of or denial of reality. Even the healthiest of us often convince ourselves of what we can and cannot do before we’ve even tried.



The four cloven hooves of the swift and powerful giraffe are a reminder that staying grounded is essential for clarity for this highly spiritual creature. Giraffes are capable of covering great distances, and can deliver well-placed kicks powerful enough to crush the skull of an attacking lioness! Melman the Giraffe from Dreamworks animated film Madagascar is an excellent modern example of severely imbalanced Giraffe energy. Melman is a hypochondriac who allows his fears and emotions to rule his decisions. It takes effort to truly see and accept one’s self with utter truth and clarity, and if we are not honest with ourselves from this core, we cannot see truth or have real clarity in any other aspect of our lives.

Whether we are choosing to remain blind or are combating a more physical hindrance like schizophrenia, it is essential to strive for truth and clarity. How to balance between Head and Heart, how to stay grounded while we search for truth, clarity and spirituality, how to master our physical selves (especially through movement therapy) to achieve spiritual awareness, how to guard and strengthen ourselves through silence, and remain flexible enough to adapt to the ever-changing needs of the future are all essential Giraffe lessons. Giraffe can teach us how to remember the past as we see into the possible futures all the while walking firmly in our present.

When I first began looking at the world of Totems and relating to All Our Relations in this way, I was surprised to find how many pictures or figurines of the Giraffe I had acquired over time. When my youngest child asked me what picture she could draw me when she was small, I had not even realized how often I asked for Giraffe until she asked me why I always chose that one! Once, as a young girl visiting the Los Angeles Zoo, I was intensely startled to have a giraffe I had not seen among the leafy foliage bend over the railing and begin grooming my head. I have never forgotten the feel of that sticky prehensile tongue as she groomed the crown of my head, nor the stir of energy she awakened by this action. I do not think of Giraffes often, but I have come to realize that I have a tremendous respect for the lessons that Giraffe teaches us. I will certainly never forget the feel of her muzzle under my child’s hand; so like the soft yet prickly muzzles of the horses I had known, yet so clearly different. How does this gentle giant appear in your life?



“The giraffe, although from 16-20 feet in height, is perfectly defenseless, and can only trust to the swiftness of its pace and the extraordinary power of vision, for its means of protection. The eye of this animal is the most beautiful exaggeration of that of the gazelle, while the color of the reddish-orange hide, mottled with darker spots changes the tints of the skin with the differing rays of light, according to the muscular movement of the body. No one who has merely seen the giraffe in the cold climate can form the least idea of its beauty in its native land.” In the Heart of Africa by Sir Samuel White Baker


“The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created – created first in the mind and will, created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating.” Unknown



“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.” George Washington Carver


Potential balancing energies: Trees like Acacia or Mimosa, Birds like Tick Bird or Vulture, Deer, Cattle, Lion, Leopard, Canines like Hyena or Dog, Insects like Fly or Tick, Plants like Grasses and Flowers, Water, Crocodile