Who knew Bee Poop could be BEE-autiful ?!

As the harshness of winter comes to an end, one of the first things we can witness with honeybees is their emergence from their winter huddle on their first 'cleansing flight'.  (Picture above: a honeybee sunbathing after its first cleansing flight).

Bees when healthy will not poop inside their hive, so over winter they hold in their excretory waste until the weather warms enough to safely exit the hive to relieve themselves. When that first warm day comes after the winter cold, we can see dopey little bees hovering around, sunbathing, and 'pooping' here there and everywhere. It can be a glorious thing to see. Just imagine poop a glorious thing!?  Bee poop is also an indicator of a colony's healthy & well-being. (Picture below: Healthy bee poop.)

If we are lucky, we get to witness the bee's first cleansing flight.  If we miss it, we can still examine the poop patterns left behind to asses bee health. The color and patterns will point to signs of disease like nosema or dysentery, or health. For example, we will notice brown water splashes, small round drop shapes, or worse, drops that run down outside the hive; where as, healthy poop is firm in shape, like firm strips or squiggly lines, or firm round spots.

Poop & bee health is really quite simple to grasp if you think about it. How healthy is a bee colony before it bunkers down into its winter huddle? If bee bodies are holding on to impurities within for some time it makes sense then that those impurities will 'run them down'. Alike bees, we humans share this experience when we hold on to negativity & impurities, and let them stew within over time - this can not only manifest in mental or emotional ill-being, but can take the physical form of disease, or physical disability. (Picture below: More healthy bee poop!)

As the new year dawns, I am thinking about my bees and wondering when they will take their first 'cleansing flight'. Last year it happened on January 19th, which I had the honor of witnessing and snapped a couple photos as you can see posted here.  I am also thinking about my own personal detoxification as the new year dawns - which brings me to today's challenge: 
Take some time to answer the questions highlighted in blue. Make a list and an action plan that will help you return to or reach optimal health. And if you feel yourself already standing there, take time to acknowledge this in gratitude and to celebrate "you"!

"What things might I be holding on to within (and perhaps have been over time for whatever reason) that I need to 'cleanse' (relieve my self from), before & as I fly out to greet the sweetness of the Work in 2014? What is my level of well-being as I enter into the new year? Am I roaring and ready to go - or do I require a little nurturing and down time?

Ideally I want to see my bees pooping glorious firm shapes here there and everywhere - but if this is not the case, I will do what needs to be done to help them return back to optimal health (a.k.a treatment).  And if we find ourselves lacking as well, may we have the courage to do what is necessary to 'fly to great heights' and bee the change we wish to see within.  

And remember Circle can also help us with this - host a Circle to speak & listen from the heart about the question(s) of the day.