Slipping the Net

The Voyage of Discovery

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”          Marcel Proust

         Many years ago, I was on retreat at a desert oasis in the Mojave. The retreat site was a ranch high up on the side of a mountain, at about 9,000 feet, so you could see for miles and miles. A natural spring further up the mountain allowed the resourceful people at the center to give the plants in their orchard precisely the right amount of water to keep them thriving in the desert. The whole idea of an orchard in the desert was astounding for a green-mountain girl from Carolina, but the fruit in that orchard was enormous, and copious. The trees were draped with nets to keep the abundant wildlife out; the nets staked down to the ground. Everyday I went to the orchard to sit and write in my journal. One day I discovered a small bird, a partridge, inside one of the trees. Somehow she had wriggled her way under the net to get at the luscious peaches on the tree, and now she was trapped. I pulled the net loose from its mooring, and lifted it up to free her, but she hopped to the other side of the tree. I tucked the net up on that side, went to the other side and tried to shoo her toward the opening. At every turn, she hopped away and only after lifting the net on three sides did I manage to free the bird. How reluctant she was to leave those sweet peaches even if it meant living in captivity!

         We humans are not so different. We will almost always choose the devil we know rather than taking a risk on the one we don’t. Sometimes we will stay in a relationship, or a job, or a place that is confining and death-dealing rather than risking life on our own. Change is hard, and as much as we champion freedom, freedom can also be terrifying. Out there, I would have to fend for myself; I would not have the safety-net of the known. It is too risky. Sometimes we engage in magical thinking. If I could just get out of this job, or this relationship, or this place, everything would be perfect, the sky would be the limit. Both positions are equally misleading.

         Life is risky. We can choose to play it safe and limit ourselves, or we can choose to slip the net and fly out into the unknown. Either choice involves risk. Embracing the fact that life is a great mystery is the only path that leads to freedom. Trust in yourself is the key that opens the door.

                                  In the spirit,

                                  Jane