The owl shapes its world without apology. Without needing a reason. Or permission. In so doing, it contributes to a more life-affirming ecology where its fullest expression benefits the existence of those species it shares space with; no matter what it looks like to the outside world.

This can happen only because in the animal kingdom there is no distortion around need. There is no past that warps an animal’s place in the world, or how it goes about expressing itself around others. And because it belongs to, and interacts with a larger community, where its full expression is balanced and in harmony with the full and non-judgmental expression of others, there is no movement, no struggle here that does not somehow fit the moment, and therefore, benefit the whole.

Humans, on the other hand, feel a need to justify, beg for, and apologize for, their right to be here. Their right to take up space. Their right to do what is in their best interest. We see this in the approval seeking so common to our species. We see this in our need to be other people’s version of us. We see this in the rules we play by that have nothing to do with our sanity, happiness, purpose, health, or, by the way, the common good. By choosing to live like this, not only do we warp, twist, and distort ourselves, but we do the very same with those sharing space with us.

Because we do not have a clear and accurate idea of who we are, and what it is that we actually need, we wind up doing great harm to both ourselves, and to others as we bring all of our distortions, blind spots, and histories to every single interaction we have. If you buy this, then, there is no greater legacy that you can leave to the world than to get clear on what your truest needs are, and then find healthy and balanced ways to meet them. There is no greater effort that you can engage in than to know who and what you actually are, and perhaps more importantly, what you are not.

CAUTION: This requires understanding and accepting that you may not always be the most beloved animal in the woods, but you will certainly be authentically and fully whatever you truly are.