I Couldn't Stop Thinking About This Snake

🧧 Happy Lunar New Year! 🧧

Today we begin the Year of the Snake, which is associated with wisdom, transformation and shedding what no longer serves us 🐍

That process of transformation is not comfortable 100% of the time, though! And it's not linear or predictable, either. Lately, I’ve been doing what I can to calm myself just so I can think and get through the day. The world feels shaky ~ political shifts in the U.S. over the past week+ have left many of us profoundly unsettled and disturbed. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or freaked out, you’re not alone.

The Year of the Snake reminds us that even in times of apparent chaos, transformation happens. Snakes don’t force change, though ~ they grow into it. When their old skin gets too tight, they release it and emerge renewed. This seems like an invitation to trust our own unfolding, even when everything feels chaotic.

To regulate my nervous system, I've been turning to simple practices and familiar comforts that help me decompress and feel more grounded. One of those is thrifting ~ sorting through objects from the past with a sense of possibility, wondering what I'll find next. A few months ago, my husband spotted something he thought I might like: an old metal mesh snake.

But I felt confused when he brought it over to me, and borderline insulted. The metal was so dull and grimy. It seemed odd and almost like junk ~ something strange whose time had come and gone. It was only $2.99, but even that seemed like a waste of money.

So we left without it.

But for some reason, I couldn’t stop thinking about that snake. That night at home, I kept getting the sense that I had missed something about it. The next day, we went back to the thrift store, and luckily, it was still there. This time, it came with us.

When I brought the snake home, I used a cleaning cloth and began to remove the layers of dullness that must have built up over decades. Pretty immediately, the sparkle started to emerge! Check it out:

I wish I had taken a photo of what the snake looked like when we first saw it ~ it was not appealing at all!

With a little internet sleuthing, I discovered that the snake is a vintage belt that can also be worn as a necklace. And it was stunning to experience how something that had seemed so worthless could actually have such obvious beauty. It had been there all along ~ I just couldn't see it at first.

All that was required was patience, presence, and a little care. And suddenly, the snake was shimmering right there in my hands ~ its tiny scales reflecting the light like the truly magical creature it is.

And it didn’t escape me that I had found this sparkling snake just before the Year of the Snake. The synchronicity felt encouraging, especially because the times we are living through do not feel particularly sparkly.

This experience reminded me of a poem I love ~ one that speaks to our wholeness and light, even as we navigate periods of doubt and turmoil. I wanted to share it with you today:

Birthright
by Danna Faulds

Despite illness of body or mind, in spite of blinding despair or habitual belief, who you are is whole.

Let nothing keep you separate from the truth. The soul, illumined from within, longs to be known for what it is.

Undying, untouched by fire or the storms of life, there is a place inside where stillness and abiding peace reside. You can ride the breath to go there.

Despite doubt or hopeless turns of mind, you are not broken. Spirit surrounds, embraces, fills you from the inside out. Release everything that isn’t your true nature. What’s left, the fullness, light and shadow, claim all that as your birthright.

from One Soul: More Poems from the Heart of Yoga (Peaceable Kingdom Books, 2003)

❤️

This is the heart of self-compassion: you are not broken. Even when you feel dull and discouraged, or life feels like too much, there is something whole and steady (and glowing) within you. I know it's hard to believe sometimes, but it's true.

If you'd like to practice a bit more with this perspective, put a hand on your heart and take three breaths:

With each inhale, say to yourself: there is a place inside

With each exhale, say to yourself: of stillness and abiding peace

When you finish, notice how you feel.

Wishing you ease and comfort today, and great luck in this Year of the Snake 🐍