Do you think you can take over the universe and improve it?
I do not believe it can be done.
Everything under heaven is a sacred vessel
and cannot be controlled.
Trying to control leads to ruin.
Trying to grasp, we lose.
Allow your life to unfold naturally.
Know that it too is a vessel of perfection.
Just as you breathe in and breathe out,
there is a time for being ahead
and a time for being behind;
a time for being in motion
and a time for being at rest;
a time for being vigorous
and a time for being exhausted;
a time for being safe
and a time for being in danger.
To the sage
all of life is a movement toward perfection,
so what need has he
for the excessive, the extravagant, or the extreme?
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 29
Recently, we have experienced a reduction in egg production. It’s crazy because they were on a roll when we got them, and it was still wintertime! In wintertime, chickens are known to naturally slow egg production, but our girls were rockin’ and rollin’ impressively, producing almost daily, in some very cold conditions. It is spring, almost summer, and their production has been cut in half!
For those that are new to reading my Substack, I am a newbie homesteader. As a newbie, and admittedly obsessive researcher, I am doing my best to dot all the ‘i’s’ and cross all the ‘t’s’ in terms of chicken care, still here we are. There are so many opinions on these things, it is dizzying! I had done everything but dive into bird psychology, and now I am. It’s interesting that I didn’t think of it before, as I am a big fan of the principles of German New Medicine, and most Mind Body approaches to healing.
We are humans, not machines, and health is much more multifaceted, nuanced, and complex than our dishwasher. We have a subconscious view, an emotional response to that view, and whether we like it or not, that impacts our psyche and subsequently our physiology. Why would I think for a moment that there wouldn’t be similarities in another species?
Animals have feelings about the world as they perceive it, just like we do, and how they experience those emotions can and does have an impact on their health. I do believe that their process is probably simpler than ours, as I am attempting to be careful not to anthropomorphize. That, too, I believe, would be a mistake. There is this tendency to project our humanness on other creatures instead of allowing them to be who they are naturally. That might be cute, but it’s not loving. We are the only animal on the planet that constantly interferes with nature, and that approach isn’t working well for us. This interference (control) isn’t limited to nature. We unconsciously act out similar scenarios in nearly every aspect of our lives. Whether in business, the marketplace, or in relationships with lovers, family, friends, or foes, there is this tendency to make everything in our image as a means of feeling some sort of control.
Predictability and sameness, about life and our environment, whether human or feathered creature, give us a false sense of security. Largely, all species see control (or imagined control) as the mode by which we feel safe and secure. We believe if we can control all the variables- resources, others, circumstances- we will be safe. I see my chickens attacking one another over food when there is plenty, and I observe humans doing the same thing in more complex ways. We, whether we have fur, feathers, or skin, are simple creatures subject to the workings of our reptile minds, which are largely fear-based by design. The only difference between us and other species is that we can become aware of that and choose to respond differently.
Control- i.e., a resistance to the flow of life- is what is truly unsafe. This, like most profound truths, is deeply rooted in paradox. Moving with nature, trusting it, even when you don’t understand it, is more foolproof in terms of a movement towards perfection. That which is inflexible will, in time, break and come to ruin. That which is flexible will endure. From a broader perspective, all is happening exactly how it should, regardless of whether that is clear to us or not.
I won’t pretend to understand why my birds, at least some of them, have been stressed. I have a few theories- extreme weather (lots of rain and up and down temperatures), construction of a new coop near them (noises they aren’t used to), too much food (I have overfed them a bit), handling (they are not used to being held and don’t seem to care for it), and dogs barking in the distance - could be contributing to a decrease in egg production. But those are theories. It’s not like they can communicate that to me. I will do what I can to mitigate those issues, and any more that I can think of, and I may, or may not, have success. And even in that, there is a sort of perfection for reasons I may never understand. Nature doesn’t owe me an explanation. There is wisdom in the Tao, the way of all things, that is beyond my comprehension, and no amount of mental gymnastics is going to prove otherwise or ever bring me peace of mind.
Perhaps that is the lesson here- when we have done all we can do, perhaps the best thing we can do is nothing- trust and move with, rather than against the flow of all things.
Trying to control leads to ruin - in mind, body, and spirit.
Let go or be dragged.
Zen Proverb
Blessings!
April