We are beginning to hear the sounds of spring here in the mountains. Yesterday as I was walking around the property where I live I heard birds that were chirping to remind others of where the sunflower seeds are. As I listened to them yesterday and again this morning I thought about the patterns in life. How do the birds know to return to the same location for food, how are they drawn to my particular feeder when there are many others to choose from. That of course brings me to the title of this post, Patterns.
I have recently been a part of an man’s life and transition from a place of comfort and knowing. What became apparent as he tried to start his new life is that he was falling back into a habitual pattern, a place he had been before. Kind of like the ground hog day experience. The only thing that had changed in this situation was the location, the people and the place. There was a common denominator in his journey, and that was him. As we discussed the pattern he was able to realize that until the pattern was unraveled and examined and some important questions asked he would most likely do it again.
It reminded me of the moment that I realized that so much of my life and the chaos that seemed to come my way was because of the way I kept going back to the same feeder and singing the same songs, just like the birds I heard yesterday. So as you think about spring wherever you are right now what are you noticing about your patterns, are you repeating something you have done before, choosing a relationship you have been in before or responding to something in a new way. The birds and other animals need certain patterns to survive and at times we think we do as well. I would invite you to look deeply into what you return to and why.