Murmurations: 7 relationships

Thoughts that make me say Hmm.

I shared my thoughts with one of my “in it to win it”  Yoga Sanghas. We have been together for years, meeting once a month for 2 1/2 hours to discuss the incredible tools of yoga in the context of our lives, our thoughts, our questions.  We speak dreams, thoughts, insights, art, life, death…We are currently reading the Bhagavad Gita .

Here was our discussion today.  We were sharing how feelings of uncertainty and fear are prevalent in all of our relationships lately.

I shared that I was “Doom scrolling” on my phone last night  before going to bed. (Bad for sleep hygiene.). When I’m stressed I go to the National Geographic photos of nature and nerdy articles.  This article was someones’s research on murmurations .  https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/starling-birds-flock-cloud

I have such wonderful memories of this phenomena on the day that one of my clients died.  I had driven to the house to say good bye.  It was early evening when this incredible massive dance performance took up the whole sky above me.  10s of 1,000s of birds flying in unison to create flowing shapes in the sky that read as a one vibrant organism. During this 1/2 hour performance not one bird collided with another.  Dancing in the orange skies into patterns never to be seen again.  I cried it was so magnificent and I felt I was the only one in the audience.

This article mentioned that there is no leader; there is no plan; there is no communication between the birds.  They never collide. because they put their attention on 7 birds around them—that’s all their brains can handle.   Each bird has no idea what the beautiful shapes they were creating in community.  Each bird is paying attention to the 7 birds immediately surrounding it.

Hmm.

I once took a  workshop that said that people are only capable of handling 7 instructions at a time max when exercising.  Don’t overwhelm your students with more than 7 things to think about.

Hmm.

I then recalled in attempting to make a difference in community social advocacy, we are asked to act locally.  Human’s have not evolved to take in all the information we have access to.  So I find it stifling and challenging to decide how and what cause to act upon.

Hmm.

What if we beings just nurture and take care of the 7 relationships closest to us at a time?   What if we respect our personal energy and space by including oneself as one of the relationships. (Abhyasa)?  Would this create a harmony dance — thousands of individuals practicing awareness and care for 7 relationships at a time? Would we then create this magnificent murmuration of humanity?

Thanks - Monica