The Fox and Crow
Good morning. Welcome to the Healing Reflection for today where you can come NEAR grief and move toward healing.
Intention
Set an intention to notice the loss in the story shared today.
NOTICE
Notice where you are feeling tension or tightness in your body today. I am going to guide you in a grounding exercise using your 5 senses. Notice what happens when you are concentrating on finding these objects. Look around where you are at and find 5 green objects. Say them out loud or to yourself. . . Next what 4 objects can you touch or feel - bring attention to your feet, hands, and body. . . Now what 3 sounds do you hear. . . Name 2 flavors you can taste. And name 1 odor you can smell.
EMOTIONS
Take a moment to name the emotion you are experiencing. Now validate your emotion/emotions. Say out loud, “I am feeling …” (name your emotion). This is where you are today. It is okay to be feeling this. If it is a big or intense emotion, your desire may be to decrease the intensity. Dan Siegel introduces the concept of “Name it to tame it.” This is the idea that by naming our emotions we can make sense of our feelings and find balance. It involves noticing our emotions and labeling them as they are happening. (“Naming”) the emotion has the effect of reducing the stress and anxiety (“taming”) in the brain and body that the emotion is causing.
ACTION
Listen to this Aesop’s tale and allow yourself to hear a needed message as you work through your grief.
The Fox & the Crow
One bright morning as the Fox was following his sharp nose through the wood in search of a bite to eat, he saw a Crow on the limb of a tree overhead. This was by no means the first Crow the Fox had ever seen. What caught his attention this time and made him stop for a second look, was that the lucky Crow held a bit of cheese in her beak.
"No need to search any farther," thought sly Master Fox. "Here is a dainty bite for my breakfast."
Up he trotted to the foot of the tree in which the Crow was sitting, and looking up admiringly, he cried, "Good-morning, beautiful creature!"
The Crow, her head cocked on one side, watched the Fox suspiciously. But she kept her beak tightly closed on the cheese and did not return his greeting.
"What a charming creature she is!" said the Fox. "How her feathers shine! What a beautiful form and what splendid wings! Such a wonderful Bird should have a very lovely voice, since everything else about her is so perfect. Could she sing just one song, I know I should hail her Queen of Birds."
Listening to these flattering words, the Crow forgot all her suspicion, and also her breakfast. She wanted very much to be called Queen of Birds. So she opened her beak wide to utter her loudest caw, and down fell the cheese straight into the Fox's open mouth.
"Thank you," said Master Fox sweetly, as he walked off. "Though it is cracked, you have a voice sure enough. But where are your wits?"
The Moral: The flatterer lives at the expense of those who will listen to him.
REFLECT
Reflect on what this fable brings up for you. There is flattery, deceit, and loss. The crow has lost her cheese to the conniving fox. I wonder if you are feeling like there is a fox in your life. Do you feel like that crow that has lost something even greater than a piece of cheese? Do not judge what comes to your awareness. Just allow yourself to notice. Thank you for listening. Have a beautiful day.
Note: The audio's background music ("Our Beautiful Project") is provided by: https://www.purple-planet.com. Images provided by Canva. Aesop story is provided by Library of Congress Aesop Fables (read.gov)