Frog Medicine

Since I first moved to the land that hosts EEC Forest Stewardship, the sound of a lone Pacific tree frog has called from a number of hidden places around the front porch. This wild companion has a love affair with potted plants, and I appreciate its careful tending of the somewhat exotic species that are watered more often and offer the frog a wet place to hang. The frog is here for the moisture. Usually, I don’s get to see it, but when I was watering the bonsai yesterday, the frog was out and enjoying the warm afternoon next to a blue marble. I had sat down to enjoy a brief respite in the shade when I noticed the amphibian friend. In that moment, I felt completely connected to place and self, the frog and I were living in the same world and resting in that moment together at peace. What an experience to take time with.

Frogs are a sign of water, grounding, and connectiveness of the two. The common bonds between all living things are held, symbolically, in this little creature. It’s a nod to emotional health, and well as physical. Reclaiming that center, I shared that moment with the frog on the porch and felt wonderful. What a privilege to just sit with another being, all the beings, the potted plant was also alive with us, still and present. The garden beyond, the forest, the stream, river to the ocean, back to the frog sitting under the tree, next to me. Perhaps, if we all took a little more time to sit and reflect in stillness, we would better anchor to place and have a sense of belonging. Connecting with other living things brings peace. For those unable to connect in such a way, there is great sadness and fear.

Alone is not part of the world’s being. Things are intimately connected throughout the world. Denying, refusing, or ignoring does not make it go away. You can always sit with your own heart beat if there is nothing else living around. Listen to the life pumping through you, carried in complex cycles, the blood re-oxygenated with your breath, electrical impulses from the brain, firing without your command, it’s happening independently, to keep you alive. The greater living world works the same way, independently, in a cycle to keep things alive. The frog is an anchor, holding water and soil together, relying on the cooperation of two elements, along with air to breath so its body can follow the same cycles, maybe in a slightly different physical composition, but connected in the same way. Sitting with frog offers stillness and inner peace. If you can, find your way to a wet place with some growing things around it and you can sit with frog too. You might not get a chance to see it the first few times you come and sit quietly, but eventually, if you keep at the connection, frog might come out to sit with you, to gaze into your eyes and have its own reflections on connection and place.