soaring eagles

A little earlier today, I was watching some eagles. One of them caught my eye to begin with, as it was gliding towards me, and then it banked, and I saw that it joined half a dozen others that had found a thermal. They were circling. And as they circled, they slowly, slowly rose, in that updraft of air. None of the eagles was flapping its wings. The whole time I was watching them, not a single flap from any of the birds. And yet there they were, flying. And not only staying up in the air, but rising.

Watching this – their effortless way of being – it reminded me, reminded me of the spiritual way, which is also effortless. In many cultures, we are encouraged from a very early age to make effort, to strive. We are told that it is only by trying hard that we get somewhere. But this attitude puts us subtly in conflict with life.

Existence has a flow to it. And if we relax and go with that flow, we are carried, without any effort on our part. We are taken where we need to go. This is the effortless way. It is wei wu wei: action without action.

So watching those eagles reminded me, to be effortless, to have an effortless attitude towards life, to trust, and to relax. And with this attitude, we too will be carried ever upwards, like those soaring eagles in the thermal.