When I lived in the Rainforest, I had the pleasure of meeting a very prestigious serpentologist, Dr. Juan Silva. He was the director of the Hospital were my husband had been assigned and while we were serving our time in the thickness of the Amazon, natives and villagers frequently came to our hut to bring live snakes or venom that they had extracted from a snake. We had been instructed to keep the samples in the only generator supplied appliance we had, the refrigerator, while the weekly airplane came from the urban center where Dr. Silva lived, the capital of the Colombian Amazon, Leticia. He had a serpentarium and a laboratory, where he injected gradual doses of venom in horses. The horses’ bodies react by creating antibodies to defeat the poison. Later on, the antibodies are extracted and bottled. They will be used as the antivenin which can allow a person to survive a snake’s bite, if injected quickly enough. This must usually be done within the first hour after the bite. Dr. Silva supplied anti-venom to many of the South and Central American nations. I had seen the extremities affected by snake bites. If the victim was lucky enough to survive, the arm or leg shriveled like a prune, skin adhering to the bone and dramatically diminishing the size of the affected body part.
As I pondered about the negativity that abounds in media and in the national mood lately, the idea of antivenins popped into my mind. Our soul also has the ability to create defense potions against the darkness and doubt that abounds and frequently invades our attitudes. We are capable of producing healing thoughts, but it requires a laboratory technique too, developing the strong will to convert negative thoughts into positive ones and to locate the adequate antivenin for each malaise of the soul. When we feel anger or resentment, we can receive them as gifts, because they are powerful feelings. Then, we have to release them, substituting them with gratitude, letting the awareness of our many blessings take the place of the bitterness or the exasperation. We can further the transformation by directing blessings towards the person or situation who inspired the feeling, this will further release us from the grips of offense or feeling victimized. When we feel scared, we can remind ourselves that whatever is causing us anxiety will pass and that we are protected and cherished. Whatever afflicts us hides an important lesson within and is a small part of a bigger, masterfully crafted plan.
When you feel neglected or lacking in any aspect, remind yourself that there is abundance in the universe. There is an open tap of blessings, there is more to go around than we can manage to request, but if we think in terms of scarcity and from a perspective of need, we will only feed these uncertainties. Even the birds in the fields are fed and the lilies adorned. Everything we require will be provided.When you feel ashamed or insufficient, remember you are enough, you have achieved what you could so far, and you are still evolving and growing every minute. When you start to doubt or worry about your current situation, remember that you are exactly where you are meant to be in this moment of time, and the future will be even better. When you feel resistance against a feeling or a situation, practice acceptance, surrender to the flow of life and keep growing your patience muscles. Every poison dose of negativity around or within you can trigger a reaction of defense and protection. You can train your mind to respond with powerful antivenins so that you can see clearly and manage to live passionately and enjoy your journey. Above all, don’t let your heart shrivel, like a dead limb!
