There once was a girl, who lived in the woods, in a nest on the tallest of treetops…
Through parable and environmental sculpture, Girl in the Woods is an ongoing body of work that explores my personal journey through the lens of yoga philosophy and nature-based art. Central to the story is a woodland character named Timberella. Parable #2 explores victimhood.
Timberella Three | Jodi Rose Gonzales
In the opening scene, Timberella is a young girl who is blown from her nest during a great storm. She awakens on the forest floor: frightened, lost, and naive.
Timberella is used to the view from the treetops, and the forest is an entirely new scene. She begins to wander, interacting with various forest creatures who impart their wisdom teachings.
Shown: Timberella 3, back detail depicting a bird with a long tail, and a hidden key.
Parable TWO: The Bird With No Wings
The girl grew up to wonder if she was part bird. She didn’t have wings and she couldn’t sing like one, but she knew she had unique talents like they did. She took their lessons to heart.
As she explored who she was, she knew that she was loving and caring and kind. She knew that she was imaginative and fun. She knew that she cared immensely for others, and she loved to help others as she tended to the forest.
Still, she struggled to know how to package her Gifts, or how to share them with others like the songbird had said. She struggled to know who to give her gifts to, and when the right time would be.
“Maybe it’s because I haven’t grown my wings yet,” she mused. “Or maybe I’m just broken from my fall. Maybe I’ll always be lost.”
The Girl happened upon another songbird: this one with a long, glittering tail and black and white striped feathers.
“Hello, bird, she said. “What wisdom do you have to share with me?”
“I am the bird of black and white thinking,” it said. “Do you see the stripes on my tail?”
“Oh, yes, said the girl, I love them very much. They’re like no feathers I’ve ever seen before!”
“These are the result of a curse placed on me after my wings were clipped. You see, I used to be able to fly great distances…thanks to my magnificent wings. But then one day, something happened, and I could fly no more, and I felt lost, alone, and devastated.
All I knew was the joy of flight, of seeing things wide and far. I felt so free, and part of the big-big world, and then those things were taken from me.”
The Girl nodded. “I know exactly what you mean,” she said. She shared that she had fallen from her tree.
Then, the Girl looked up. “Will you tell me of the curse?” she asked.
“When I lost what I had, I became very depressed, and a victim of black-and-white thinking,” the bird said.
“I saw the world as only good or bad, and because of what had happened…I saw mostly bad, and I became afraid, and wanted very much to die. And so I placed a curse upon myself, and in doing so grew these black and white feathers.
“Then, over time, I realized that without the use of my wings, the tail feathers are all I have, and they are lovely, even if they are the result of what happened to me.
“I am unique because of what life gave me, and I realized I could choose how to deal with what life gave me. I decided to appreciate what happened to me, because I could take it as a lesson and grow from that lesson and use it to help others. I could share with them, like I’m sharing with you.”
The little girl considered this.
“I’m not sure I understand,” she said.
“Take yourself for example,” the bird said. “You fell from your nest. And because you believe you have no home, you have since been lost, and wandering.
You could decide that your world is gone, and decide that nothing will ever be the same.
You could also decide to be bitter about that, or to be mad at the whole world because that happened.
That would be the curse of black-and-white thinking. If you do that, you will truly never be happy again.”
The little girl nodded.
“I feel that way sometimes,” she said.
“And you have every right to,” the little bird said. “You lost all you knew, and you have a right to be sad, and angry, and to grieve.
You can feel those things and still find another way to view your life. Consider this: you have had many new experiences since you fell from the tree.
“That is true,” said the girl. And she told the little bird of the songbird, and it’s wisdom about Gifts, and how the songbird had shared that all in the world is connected.
“Yes, and now you met me,” said the bird. “That is part of the great mystery of how we are all connected. Perhaps you’re not lost, but just where you’re meant to be.”
And with that, the little bird hopped into the stream. It floated away, steering with that magnificent tail. She still traveled, this little bird without wings!!
“I must no longer see myself as a victim of falling, from the tree” the little girl said to herself.
“I can choose to see myself as the victim of the great storm or I can choose to see that it opened me to a new adventure.
“I can choose to see myself as lost and alone, or I can choose to see that there is an opportunity before me: to make friends, to discover my Gifts, and to learn more about the world. This could not have happened if I had stayed safe in my nest.”
And with that, that girl discovered within her a new key: one that unlocked her heart and opened her to a gentler way of being.
Songbird | Jodi Rose Gonzales
The songbirds are a series of small sculptures comprised of seed pods, jewels, pine cone parts, and other found objects.
They represent the various matriarchs who steered me correctly, throughout life.
In the Girl in the Woods series, the first three Timberellas are depicted with a bird, and a key. The keys represent the wisdom teachings imparted by the songbirds.
Inside the 8 Keys mini-course you’ll find audio meditations, fourteen art prompts, a practice guide, and additional resources to support your art-based mindfulness practice. The 8 Keys is FREE and housed inside Jodi’s app, True Natured Creatives. Available in your Apple or Google Play stores, or explore it online here.
Jodi Rose Gonzales ATR, NCC, ERYT, YACEP was recently celebrated in Times Square as the International Association of Top Professional’s Global Impact Artist of the Year. She an artist, art therapist, author and yoga teacher who guides creative people in unlocking their full potential. Get her free mini-course called Creative Freedom: Eight Essential Keys to Inspiration, HERE.