Great Egret Spiritual Meaning

It is about purity

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” – Matthew 5:8

Purity tends to be connected with moral righteousness or uncompromising standards.

When I see a great egret, the thing that always strikes me is how patient and still it can be.

Almost like it is moving so purely, unadulterated by the manufactured absurdity of this world.

The great egret shows me that purity is something that plunges me right into the heart of life.

It demands me to lay bare my soul before I can even read one of its words, commanding that I have a clean heart and mind.

If I think back on the times in my life that felt most spiritual, it’s usually moments of mindfulness and stillness.

It is the essence of presence that the great egret represents. Every action it takes is calculated from a place of sanctity within.

I consider it to be that very purity that allows it to uphold a connection with its surroundings but not have anything stick to itself.

It is a lesson I still walk around with — purity does not come through solitude; it comes when I can live in this world but rise above and try to be untainted by its influence on my soul.

It is about patience

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” – Romans 8:25

The great egret is known for its patience — a trait that I aspired to adopt more of throughout my own life.

The way an egret freezes in one spot, poised until it is precisely the right moment to strike, reinforces that point for me.

Spiritual growth isn’t always the rush of activity.

More often than not, the biggest transitions in my life have come during times when I was still patient.

Patience is getting me into a ready state of mind, full of emotions and spirit to get there.

The great egret helps me to understand that the universe has its timing, and it is my job to trust in this process.

Watching the egret again, I am encouraged to be patient — let what will come come and unfold in its own time.

When I do think of patience, the first thing that comes to mind is not a virtue but rather some unappealing exercise in endurance.

Patience is not a philosophy.

Instead, it is a way of life that moves with the rhythms of existence.

There have been times in my life when I wanted to hurry up and do what felt most intense to me.

The great egret has saved me over and again by teaching me that real patience is knowing when to wait.

Having faith that it will happen when it is supposed to, not a moment before or after.

It is not a passive waiting but an active preparation for the very things you have been anticipating.

It is about grace

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace.” – Hebrews 4:16

Grace is one of the deepest spiritual aspects of life and is embodied so absolutely beautifully by the great egret.

Seeing this bird in action, whether it be strolling through the marshes or taking flight, is pure grace.

Grace is about how we face the difficulties of living life with grit.

The egret floats with grace on the surface while tumultuous waters flow around it.

This is the type of grace I want to have — one that allows me to exist through these pivot points without being buried underneath them.

The egret helped me to realize that grace is not about running away from life’s challenges but meeting these sufferings with humility and equanimity.

It is about the connection to water

“For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground.” – Isaiah 44:3

have always linked water to emotions and intuition.

The great egret wading through the marsh suggests the depth to which I must connect with my emotions, even if that means just getting into them for some time.

My emotions are like water – they can be still and serene one day, but if I allow clutter to enter into the waters or let trash float around me, then things get turbulent.

The great egret wading through water shows me to move gracefully with my emotions.

I relate this to my spiritual practice, in which I see emotions as being like the water itself — a fluid and flexible substance. Instead of diving into the water, the great egret wades in with grace and purpose.

That is very similar to how I attempt to work through my emotional universe.

Mastering my emotions is one of the hardest things to learn, but a necessity for growing spiritually and fully.

I can recount multiple instances in my life when I was almost drowning underwater with emotions. However, when I slow down to listen and act from a space of calm, my intuition grows stronger.

It is about stealth

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Luke 12:34

What has always intrigued me about the great egret is their stealth used in conjunction with strategy.

It is motionless, almost indistinguishable from the terrain in which it lurks and waits for its perfect opportunity.

In my own life, I have realized that the more passionate and less conflicted about a single goal on which to place energy, the higher the likelihood of success for it actually happening.

The great egret reflects the power of narrowing my vision and bringing my life into greater harmony with what I most deeply wish for.

Like everyone else in a world awash with distractions, I have struggled to concentrate on the important things. But I can always learn from the great egret to master stillness and patience when aiming for my ambition.

It is very calculated; it will not strike unless the world all colludes to open a sweet spot.

It has revolutionized my spiritual practice. I know how to retrace my steps, yield just more focus on the single task at hand and wait for the perfect moment.

And through doing so, I have been able to achieve things that once upon a time seemed impossible.

It is about solitude

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” – Luke 5:16

Solitude has always been in the landscape of my spiritual terrain.

The great egret me that solitude is not something to be feared.

Solitude provides an intimate space to talk with ourselves.

It is ok to be alone, and sometimes, in the quiet moments, I hear my soul talking.

Still, solitude has provided some of the most powerful moments of transformation in my life.

I find myself experiencing the divine during these moments of silence, and it is here in this peace that I learn to reconnect my self-inflicted disconnect with life.

It is about the balance of earth and air

“For everything there is a season…” – Ecclesiastes 3:1

The great egret is a symbol of balance to me — water, land, air – all in one.

It glides easily between material and spiritual until it exhibits what authentic spirituality is: the bundled chords of reality.

The great egret is an example that in my day-to-day I can be firmly rooted without having to forsake an upward journey spiritually.

Then again, spirituality is not meant for escape but a balance of life.

Many people I know think that spirituality involves becoming unworldly, but the great egret comes to me as a sleek response.

I can be fully in the material plane and still connect my spirit with higher planes.

Through regular use of the sky and water, this egret stands in for the dual human struggle.

Balancing at the root and being able to fly in my sky shows me how I can tether myself and still be unfettered.

It is about peace

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” – John 14:27

The great egret makes me think of beauty, peace and tranquility.

It symbolizes peace in a world full of chaos. It reassures me that true peace is a state of being.