Finch

As I sat breathing this morning, I noticed a group of Finches searching tree branches for bugs. I was humbled by these tiny bird's ability to survive and thrive in such cold weather. It seems like their small bodies would freeze in a matter of moments.

When I am out I this type of cold I am protected by layers, and even still I can only take it for so long before retreating to the warmth of the cabin. As a kid I thought that if you fell asleep in the cold you would die. I got this idea for movies and TV shows, where imperiled adventurers struggle to keep each other awake during long cold nights. Yet there was Finch. With no cabin to retreat to, she goes about her day, cold or no cold.

Finch got me thinking about the mythologies we create for ourselves. Mythologies about what is possible, and about what we can and can't survive. Having slept out in the cold, with appropriate gear, I know that it's not a death sentence. It's actually pretty amazing, but for so long I believed it was something I could not do. So often the limits I place on myself are only real in my mind. Once I test those limits, I realize that don't actually exist.

Today, I will be paying attention to times when what I think I can't do gets in the way of me experiencing what is actually possible.