We keep this medium sized empty carton box on a table outside our main door. It’s very handy whenever deliveries come in – grocery deliveries, couriers. We ask them to fill all the stuff in the box and then we take the box into the house and keep everything away.

Sometimes, when we’re feeling particularly lazy, the groceries just sit there in the box, just inside the main door for a couple of days. This was one of those days.

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I’d woken up in the morning and I was kind of annoyed with that box sitting there full of groceries, just looking at me accusingly every day. It’d been sitting there for a couple of days. A few perishable items had gone into the fridge, but the rest was just left in the box.

So that day I cleared everything up. And then I took the carton box outside the door to place it on the table.

When I was doing that, I could hear a noise

Initially, I thought it was some maybe somebody crinkling a plastic cover, but it was too consistent. It was going “ktk ktk ktk, ktk ktk ktk”. So I looked around and I saw this big bumblebee.

We have a balcony right across from our house’s main door. This bumblebee had somehow gotten inside the building and it was trying to get out. And the only way it could think of doing that is hit itself against the glass balcony door repeatedly, “ktk ktk ktk, ktk ktk ktk”.

It was insistent! Like, it was not giving up, you know, it was consistently hitting itself against the glass, trying to push itself out. “Oh, I have to go out. I have to go out. There’s light there on the other side. I can see it, but I can’t go out! What’s happening?!”

I’ve seen this happen sometimes with a moth or a wasp or a fly, but this was the first time I saw this happening to such a large sized bumblebee. You know, the ones which don’t fly around very fast? They don’t zip around, they go very slowly wherever they go, very calmly, it was one of those kinds of bumblebees. And it was so sad to see it struggling.

I was so glad that at this point in time I’d felt this need to keep away all the groceries and take the box out. It was a random time in the middle of the day. And I was able to find the bumblebee, see it to struggling, at the right time.

So I opened the balcony door

As I opened the balcony door, it went along with the door….it was so intensely focused on getting out through that glass that it didn’t even notice that the door had opened and there was all this space behind it through which it can just fly away.

It was still going, “ktk ktk ktk, ktk ktk ktk, ktk ktk ktk” against the glass. And I’m like, “Hello, dude! Look behind you! There’s all this space go. Shoo!”

I watched it for a bit. After maybe half a minute I realised that it’s not going to find its way back on its own. It needed some help. I took a long piece of paper and gently nudged it away slowly, slowly, to the edge of the door. And then it realised and flew away.

Why am I telling you this?

I had this big smile on my face. very smug, very happy with myself. You know that feeling we all get when we think we’ve done some great job of helping someone? Those warm fuzzies?

I was feeling those and getting into the house, closing the door and thinking, “oh silly bumblebee!” You know, just laughing to myself. And then it hit me. The penny dropped. “Oh my god, we do this all the damn time!”

That’s why I’m telling you this!

We’re so stuck on something that we’re trying to achieve, stuck on struggling a certain way, that we don’t even realise when other creative opportunities open up around us!

We think this is the only way to do something, like the bee on the glass. It was just going against the glass, against the glass, and was so focused on it that the silly thing didn’t realise that the door opened out and it could just fly away.

Most others, like the moths and the wasps and few other insects that I’ve seen struggling against that glass door, as soon as I open the door they go away. Especially the ones which tend to rest a bit and then keep continuing. They somehow become more aware that, “oh wait, there’s a shift in energy. What’s that breeze I feel on my back?” They take a slight turn and then fly right away out of the balcony, out into the sky.

But this little bee is like a lot of us who don’t take the time to rest, to contemplate, to breathe

We’re like, “I have to do it! This just has to get done. This has to happen and this is the only way it can happen. There’s no other way. So I will not look left. I will not look right. I won’t become mindful of the surroundings around me. I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing even though it isn’t yielding any result. It’s tiring me out, but there’s no result, there is no progress happening.” Or even if it feels like progress, very less progress happening.

I think none of us should be like that bumblebee. We need to wait, especially when we feel like we’re stuck somewhere, but otherwise too. We often need to pause, get aligned with our surroundings, become mindful, and then move ahead, and then take the next situation. And we need to realise that there is no only one way all the time to do something.

There are more ways than one, and somebody’s always looking out for us

The universe is there looking out for us. There was no reason for me to have felt that I needed to put that box out there on that day at that time, but that’s exactly what I was called to do. So I was sent to open the door for the bee I suppose, right? I don’t know.

We’re all playing roles in life which make an impact on others, knowingly or unknowingly. There’s a big world full of people and things and situations, everything aligning to help you when you’re stuck somewhere. When you’ve taken the wrong turn somewhere and you’ve reached a point where you don’t know how to move forward, there’s somebody looking out for you.

Have faith that there’s someone, and something good’s gonna come out of it, and then pause and regularly look around, as you continue to make your effort

I mean, if I’d opened the door and that bee was just sitting, and continuing to sit there… Some insects do that, I’ve seen that happen. They just sit there without moving because they’re frozen after all that working hard, like, “nothing’s gonna come of it. I’m just gonna sit here.”

When we give up, that also doesn’t serve a purpose. The door’s going to be open only for a certain amount of time, right? So don’t be either stuck, or be too active. Like, “I have to do this!” and continuously pushing yourself to do something which isn’t working.

It’s important to pause, be mindful, and keep realigning yourself to the situation

It makes such a difference!

I’m sure you can think of a situation where you’re like, “This is the only way to do it!” and then just keep doing it without even realising there are so many other opportunities. There are so many other ways.

It’s really funny when we think of this. You think of these situations, and you probably laugh at yourself for being like that silly little bee. I can think of several for myself! So there’s that.

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That’s it for today. Take care. Bye

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Susmitha Veganosaurus

“I read voraciously, find humour in most things, and I’m most in my element when I’m teaching, writing, and playing with clay. I believe authenticity and kindness are the key to a joyful world. Sign up for my free newsletterwhere I share Life and Business Tips, Vegan Hacks, Holistic Guidance, and more.

Vegan cuisine and holistic business building are my two biggest passions. If you’re looking for guidance with vegan cooking, or want to grow your conscious business with joy and fulfilment, explore ways we can work together here.”

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