The Birds Do It!

I hate to potentially disappoint you, but this is not a narrative on the “birds and the bees”. That said, I hope you find it just as thought provoking and entertaining.

Several days ago, my friend and fellow blogger, Barbara Lane, wrote about birds and it got me to thinking. There is something peaceful and fascinating to me about watching birds. I acquired the past time from my grandfather when I was much younger. I love watching them flitter about, seemingly carefree, happily grabbing the snacks I put out for them a couple times a week. Watching them interact, seeing their different color patterns, and listening to their various songs sometimes makes me get lost in thought.

After reading Barbara’s blog post, I went to my dining room and sat, gazing upon my bird feeders. The gold and house finches were bouncing back and forth between the nyjer seed and the black oil sunflower seeds. The juncos and mourning doves were cleaning up the seeds falling on the ground. There was a downy woodpecker tapping away at the suet, until a bigger red-bellied woodpecker swooped in, causing the downy to jump up to the sunflower seeds because there was more room there. A couple blue jays even stopped by to grab some in-shell peanuts. And at any point in this constant interchange, varying ratios of these species were peppered about on the nearby maple tree, patiently awaiting their turns at the feast. The whole spectacle was a beautiful, visual euphony. The thought then entered my mind, If the birds can do it, why can’t humans?

I have seen a whole host of other birds at my feeders at different times of the year. Orioles, sparrows, flickers, nuthatches, etc. Each of them have different colors, shapes, sizes, food choices, ways of communicating, housing preferences, etc. The diversity of the birds in my very own backyard is pretty cool. And here’s the deal, they all share the same small space, allowing each other to partake in the gift I have offered them. Not only do they simply share this small space, they do so with such ease and grace. Yes, when one of the bigger birds shows up, it may startle a few of the others for a moment, but they jump right back in, sharing both the space, and the nourishment. They are seemingly so joyful at the moment that the obvious differences between them don’t seem to matter.

I wish we humans were a ~~little~~ lot more like my backyard birds. Why is it that we spend so much time focusing on each others differences that we lose sight of the gifts that have been offered us. When we could be joyful, sharing the same spaces with others with ease and grace, why do we sometimes tend to segregate ourselves. What could be a beautiful, visual euphony of diverse humans sharing life together occasionally finds us using the very same beauty as sorting labels.

I do think that, collectively, we have come a long way in the United States to be more “bird-like” in the past several years. However, I also think we can continue to learn more and try harder to embrace the differences in those around us. Humans, like birds, come in an incredible array of colors, sizes, shapes, and communication styles. Humans also have a whole host of different faiths, romantic preferences, shoe sizes, food choices, hair styles, entertainment tastes, and clothing choices. Heck, some humans really love football and others may love theater. And ya know what? Some humans may love both football and theater!

Here’s my point. We can learn a lot from birds. They did, in part, teach us how to fly, after all. But aside from the mechanical nature of what they can offer, I suggest that they can also teach us how to love…or at least love better. And, maybe, they can teach of how to share the same spaces with others with greater ease and grace. (Just be careful! Birds can also teach us how to poop on windshields…let’s not go there!) 🙂