During my attempt to meditate today (I’m new to it, so the mind still whirls), I was reflecting on my recent education and experience with electrical wiring. My significant other was teaching me some basic wiring, specifically about how to change outlets and light fixtures. I learned about each wire (hot, neutral and ground) and how to test, test and re-test to make sure that no electricity is flowing before messing with anything (after flipping the breaker and/or switch, of course). So, I spent a lot of time replacing an outside light. I tested the wires and then connected them as instructed. I screwed on the wire nuts and gave them a yank to ensure connection. After numerous attempts to shove all the wires back into the box and attach the fixture to the bracket, I was done. It was pretty.
We flipped the power back on and….nothing. It was a motion-sensing light, so I messed with the settings and we tried again. Still nothing. Several minutes of trying different switches, adjusting the settings, loosening the fixture to test the black wire (which is the “hot” one, if you didn’t know) and pushing the reset button on the GFCI outlet and finally...you guessed it. Nothing. No power was flowing. I loosened the fixture a little more and what do you think I saw? If you guessed a disconnected black wire, you are correct. My guy reminded me that “yank on it like you mean it” means to actually yank like you mean it. As if you want to pull it down. Now I know, but back to my meditation revelation.
From the outside, the fixture appeared to have all the right connections. Only with close inspection did it become clear that it wasn’t functioning, because I failed to complete the circuit. This made me think about our bodies and minds. How often to think we have everything we need to function well, but fail to complete our own circuits? We feel like we're doing everything right, but we don't feel energized? What we fail to see is that we aren't making the connection with a powerful source - nature.
We float above the natural world - concrete, shoes and flooring between us and the earth, rarely touching it directly or immersing ourselves in that which gives us life. Is it any wonder that we crave this connection, often without realizing it? On some level, we know we need, because we speak wistfully about putting our toes in the sand, feeling the wind in our hair or getting our hands in the earth. When we do these things, we feel renewed, alive, filled with energy. Immersion in nature completes our circuits.
Some of my most energizing experiences have come from plunging into a lake, walking barefoot in the forest, touching trees with hands, feeling the pull and swirl of the tides around my legs. These are our black wires, the hot connections that keep us alive. They charge our batteries so that we can go on functioning when we aren’t directly connected, but when our batteries drain, we have to recharge. I believe we must have experiences in nature to do this properly, to avoid living a life of dim existence that fails to realize our full power or to harness our potential energy. Seek out the connection that energizes you the most, whether forest, ocean, mountains, lake or river, but you don’t have to go that far to energize. Take off your shoes in your own back yard, put your hands on a tree, lie on the ground and look at the sky. You’ll see nature everywhere, once you look for it. Go ahead - complete your circuit - and watch the energy flow.
