A fish cannot drown in water
by Mechthild of MagdeburgEnglish version by Jane Hirshfield
Original Language German
A fish cannot drown in water,
A bird does not fall in air.
In the fire of creation,
God doesn't vanish:
The fire brightens.
Each creature God made
must live in its own true nature;
How could I resist my nature,
That lives for oneness with God?
 | -- from The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, by Stephen Mitchell |
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I missed sending a poem last week. I have been especially busy with my day job. I am actively editing a new book which Poetry Chaikhana will publish soon (and thinking a lot about haiku and enlightened awareness). And there was even a question for several weeks as to whether we would be moving. Life has been full! But when I go for more than a week without connecting with the Poetry Chaikhana community I feel I am missing something essential. I refer to the Poetry Chaikhana as a community because that's what you are to me -- a community, my community. Collectively, you are my home. Is that an odd thing to say? I have had the most wonderful correspondence with several of you. With others we share the occasional short, friendly note sent back and forth. But it's not entirely about communication on that level. Even with those of you who quietly receive my poem emails without direct correspondence, I feel a connection, a shared exchange. I find nourishment in my time with all of you. I feel something vital and meaningful, a special energy shared in all directions through these poem emails and blog posts. I hope you feel it too.
I didn't want to wait until the end of the new week to reconnect, so here's a Monday poem...
A fish cannot drown in water,
A bird does not fall in air.
Variations on this metaphor are used in every culture. It's simple, but such an important reminder. We are inherently in our element. Notice how some part of our mind instinctively comes to rest and uncoils at this reminder?
In the fire of creation,
God doesn't vanish:
The fire brightens.
We have a tendency to be overwhelmed by the intensity of life... the "fire of creation." In that overwhelm we often have a self-protective psychic reflex to wall out the things and experiences we label as painful. We create a mental separation and tell ourselves, "This is me. And that out there is the pain." That's natural, right? In extreme cases, maybe it's even necessary -- in the moment.
The problem with that in the long term is that, over time, as we live and experience more, we wall off more and more until we inhabit a fragmented psychic landscape. And, in that fragmentation, we lose the vision of unity. This is how God seems to "vanish" in the fire of creation. This is how we lose our connection with the fundamental ground of being and forget our true nature.
BUT- through spiritual practice, through profound self-acceptance, through fearless observation, those psychic walls come tumbling down. And then, all at once, the vision comes, and we are filled with its light!
Like a fish in water and a bird in the air, the Eternal lives and moves through all of creation. Material reality is the medium of expression for the Immaterial. It is That, and nothing less, which is the all-pervading animating warmth and life of all things. When we rediscover it, all of creation shines.
How could I resist my nature,
That lives for oneness with God?
So often spiritual seekers struggle with the question of how to find God, how to get to heaven, how to attain salvation, or enlightenment, or union... What are they really? Do they even have value in 'real life'? But Mechthild reminds us that it is our very nature to seek that unity. The real key is to simply stop resisting our nature. Seekers strive, but saints get out of the way.
Recommended Books: Mechthild of Magdeburg
