Dream

– May, 2020 –

I am walking through a park on a clear, spring day. I look to my left and see a tree standing alone. At its foot is a mother duck surrounded by her ducklings. Some are at her side, others partially covered by her tail, or her wing, and all are connected to her. I notice that she has her eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the pokes, and prods and pushes of her babies.

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For the second time in three days, I wake in my bed, laughing. I can feel my heart. There is a softening, an opening. Tears of joy are welling up in my eyes. The normally tight muscles running along my spine relax. I feel safe, held—like the ducklings. A smile lights up my face as the mother duck comes to mind. She is bathing in the bliss of love for her ducklings. But this love is effortless, as if she is merely a conduit through which this unconditional force expresses itself.

I sense this love as a giant, benevolent smile. And it is smiling at me. Within me is the mother duck. And within me is also the duckling. I am the container and the contained; the provider of love and safety, and also the receiver.

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