The Enlightened Ostrich

I called myself the enlightened ostrich once, joking with a friend about my relationship to self-awareness vs. world news and affairs.  I have a daily practice of looking for and thinking about my inner landscape.  I have a daily aversion to watching the news or in any way participating in the politics of the greater world around me.  This is not to say that I do not feel deeply about the world around me, I just prefer to limit and/or vet those whose content I choose to allow into my life. 

The ostrich metaphor seems to suggest that ostriches bury their heads in an attempt to avoid predators.  We then equate this as a human avoiding or ignoring the world around them.  Animal experts, however, explain that the ostrich, when nesting, dig shallow holes in the ground to use as nests for their eggs.  They use their beaks to turn their eggs several times each day.  From a distance, this practice gives the appearance of an ostrich burying its’ head in the sand.

This is fascinating to me as I thing of the obvious implications of my own self.  I view that by limiting my exposure to certain content, I am in actuality protecting the “eggs” of wisdom held invisibly inside me only to be revealed through time and reflection.  I am giving myself this time and the space to absorb the content that keeps me deeply rooted in my own well-being.  How can you be an Enlightened Ostrich this week?