The goslings are out floating in the lake alongside their proud and protective parents. It’s always a joy. I wait for their birth each year, but I noticed something different this year. Maybe it’s because they were floating in the lake on an overcast day, but here’s what I saw: yellow green fuzz balls floating on the lavender gray lake. The yellow-green color just jumped out at me, and I realized that although I’ve been watching and taking pictures of the goslings for years, I’d never really seen their true color.
I wondered.
Why were they this color? To survive. Their yellow green color matches the new grass growing up around the lake, making it harder for hungry eagles, hawks and herons to spot them from above.
That got me thinking.
How many times do I, too, clothe myself so as to mix in with the scenery around me? I can see that to be accepted is really a deep seated survival need implanted in me and not a sign of weakness.
I wondered.
Maybe there’s more here…and then I saw it. The goslings yellow green fuzzy camouflage allows them to grow and develop in a safe environment. When they’ve grown big enough to go out into the world, they shed their fuzz for bold white and black feathers.
That got me thinking.
Creating new work, as an artist or writer, requires a certain fuzz factor. You need a bit of camouflage to protect you from those swooping critical voices. You need a soft fuzzy, solitary space in which to grow and develop your work.
I wondered.
When will I know that my fuzz in gone? How will I know I’ve grown enough feathers to get out there and fly? Notice in the photo below, the goslings are darker, growing out of their camouflage. Maybe it'll happen for me, just like it happens for them. Naturally.
No comments:
Post a Comment