In a Moment - Issue 25

I fell into a rabbit hole of baby otter videos the other night. Sometimes, when the work stress, life stress, world stress become a little too much I take a break into the world of furry animals. There's been the fluffy cows and fluffy frenchies. And on Wednesday night, it was baby otters. And as I went deeper into the youtube algorithm, I stumbled upon this video.

It's a 1-minute video of a baby otter wriggling around on a deck and eventually leaps into the water to their mother below.

I watched this video a few times, captivated by the movement, the infant-like cries, and the mama otter's tenderness. After sharing the video with a close friend, it struck me why I was so connected to this video.

We are all this baby otter.

We have been struggling, we have been testing our limits, we have tapped into previously unknown depths of strength.

We've had moments when we're surprised by our own abilities to persevere, to keep going, to keep pushing.

We've taken moments to pause, to turn in, and tend to ourselves.

We've cried out for support.

We have heard the cries of those calling us to jump, to dive, to leap forth.

And now with this changing season, it feels like time to leap. To trust that there is a mama otter there to catch us, to pick us up when we need, and to offer us a moment of tenderness.