When You’re Tired of Trying: Lessons in Mindfulness from a Woodpecker
âThe antidote to exhaustion isnât rest. Itâs wholeheartedness.â ~David Whyte
Crouched down in a cold clump of leaves in the woods, I watch a woodpecker. Persistent, unbothered, moving up and down a tree next to me. It is methodically tapping its beak bit-by-bit looking for something to eat. I watch and wonder… Arenât you tired of this relentless pursuit? Tired of smashing your face again and again with the odds stacked against you? How fleeting disappointment must be for you.
Not me. I take one bump and the disappointment reels through me. I desperately seek ease, my eyes always halfway …