The Black Fawn

I don't know about you, but I cannot read the acknowledgement on the bottom left corner of this photo. So I apologize to whomever took this picture if I am infringing on any copy write stuff. I also applaud you for taking such an amazing photo, whoever you are!

This one came to me via email and I have now saved it as my screen saver. The reason....I can relate. It reminds me of myself when I was a child. I was always running full throttle with joy in my heart and loved being in the great outdoors. I was also different from the other kids I knew....actually from most of the other people, child or adult, that I knew. So in a way it is a representation of my freedom as well as of my greatest challenges.

The challenges were to find a way to "fit in" and to connect on a social level without compromising my own uniqueness and to find a way to not have my uniqueness put me into dangerous situations. I am still a part of the herd, but not in a way that helps me to "blend in" very easily. There are others like me out there, but we tend to stay as hidden as possible just out of self-preservation.

So along the way I discovered that I needed to grow thicker skin. That meant that in order to not get all caught up in society's expectations of me I had to find a way to not give a crap about what those expectations were. This was not an easy task by any stretch. I had to find ways of gaining speed and leaping far and high in order to escape those expectations. I think that I have, for the most part, become quite successful at this. It has not been without a few stumbling blocks along the way. But each time I stumbled I discovered a new way to not stumble the next time.

So now here I am, a fully grown black deer(horn) and someone who helps others to find their own paths amongst the world of expectations and limitations. In a way, I guess that I am helping them to join my herd of misfits. Not that I want followers by any stretch, but at least some amount of strength comes in numbers. That way we can all support and watch out for each other. Unfortunately, we do still live in a world where "different" is considered to be dangerous. Human responses to "different" can be quite aggressive at times. So ya, we all need to stick together and support our uniqueness while helping each other to still function in a dysfunctional world.

Blessed Be
Trent
http://www.youtube.com/trentdeerhorn
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Snow Goose

"The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself." Lao-Tse.

I know a person who says it takes 2 hours for her to get ready for work in the morning. What on earth can take 2 hours I don't know. She works in the cosmetics industry. I guess that says it all. We are bombarded by images of what it looks like to be "put together" and, therefore, acceptable. When we really get down to it, if we were on a plane that crashed and we survived the crash and were stranded on a deserted island, would lipstick really matter? No. What would matter would be food and shelter.

I personally don't intend to be on a plane that crashes, so hopefully I will not regret writing those words one day. However, I can certainly say that the most important thing in presenting myself has always been to simply be myself. Yes, I wear nice clothes and I wear jewelry, but the most I do cosmetically is shave, put on skin lotion (unscented) and deodorant. If all else failed, I would be stinky and hairy. That is just the way it is.

We get so caught up in others' expectations though. We think we have to have and wear what is "in" so that we will fit in. I personally would rather not try to fit into something that is not me. I like the way I am and if anyone else doesn't like it, then it is their loss. Nor do I need to like them. We can respect each other, yes, but we need not like each other. I have found that being liked by everyone is too difficult a task and that it takes way too much energy and time. Trying to like someone that I really don't like is also a waste of time and energy.

Be yourself. Love yourself. All else will either not matter, or will simply and easily fit.

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Standing Out

The other day my daughters were with me and wanted to see the movie, "What A Girl Wants". It is a charming movie about a teenage girl who goes to England to find her biological father. He turns out to be a politician from an extremely wealthy family. For the sake of his position in society and at work, she tries to become the demure daughter that she thinks he wants her to be. Her boyfriend asks her a very important question, "Why are you trying so hard to fit in, when you were born to stand out?"

That is my favorite line in the movie. There were a number of excellent lines. But this one really speaks to me and to everyone who has tried to be "normal" by sacrificing who they really are. If we could all just remember the fact that we are unique and that this is something to be celebrated, not stifled, the world would be a much more authentic place in which to live.

The truth is that trying to be something that we are not never really serves anyone in any way that could be considered significant. When we become and stay authentic to who we truly are, we serve ourselves and our world in ways that are more deep and meaningful than we sometimes even hope or dream they could be. This is why I enjoy the sandbox. It grounds me and keeps me real and allows me to creatively express myself. Ever since I was a little kid I have enjoyed the sandbox. Now I have a grown up sandbox, called a Zen Garden. It is a beautiful pottery tray that my daughter made in her pottery class, with sand from Hawaii and shells and a stone from the Rockies. It has a teeny weeny rake that I can use to make patterns in the sand. I could go on and on about it, but I won't. The point is that it is part of who I authentically am. And when I am on the beach, I make the most wonderful sand castles. When I make sand castles, most of the kids on the beach end up coming up and asking if they can help me. The answer is always yes. It is amazing what one can learn from a kid while making sand castles.

As an example, I was on a holiday once and was making a sand castle on a beach by a lake when a young boy named Devin came up to me and asked if he could join in. As we were building the sand castle, he revealed to me that he was an only child, that he loved to play the guitar and drums, that his favorite color was blue like the sky, that he could see all sorts of things in the clouds if he looked at them the right way, that his mom and dad were sitting on the bench about a hundred and fifty feet away watching us, that he loved to ride his bicycle, and that he thought that the world would be a better place if there were many more flavors of ice cream from which to select. I had to agree with the ice cream philosophy. Small things like that do indeed make the world a much better place in which to live!

So I invite everyone who reads this to play in the sand. This will help you to discover many a wisdom that is right there, just waiting to be uncovered. I also invite you to build sand castles with children in your world. And while you do, listen to them. They will always surprise you with the knowledge and wisdom that they can impart, when one is able to receive.

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com