The Birds

    

     I recently bought a pair of moccasins and took the weekend to break them in. Miss Dottie and I went on a long walk today and I wore my moccasins for two reasons: 1.) I like shoes worn and broken in, not brand-new looking. Plus moccasins are incredibly comfortable when they mold to your feet and I wanted to start that process ASAP. 2.) I have heard that moccasins made the footsteps of the Native Americans quieter as they walked through the woods, and I wanted to see if this would be the case for me as well. Result: The moccasins did not make my footsteps any quieter...but this may have more to do with the way that I walk more than the shoes. who knows?
     What I DO know is that my moccasins led me to a bird's nest that had fallen from a tree. There it was, laying sweetly on the ground and I thought to myself, "Surely, this must be an omen of some kind...I mean, I'm wearing moccasins, for Pete's sake". I let Miss D investigate the nest before picking it up and walking home. All the way home, I got really excited imagining all that the nest could symbolize: a fruitful financial year, unexpected travel plans, an Indian Summer...who knows? I got home and promptly got on the internet to find out what my bird's nest symbolized and here is what I discovered:

Finding a bird's nest is "A much vaunted discovery, which later turns out to be illusory or worthless". 

awesome. it gets even better. 

"The 'proper' meaning has it that finding a nest is imagining that one has found something remarkable when in fact one has found nothing of the sort." 

double awesome. 

     Yes, I was disappointed that the nest was not an omen guaranteeing me a big check in the mail, however, the more I thought about it, the more I realized this experience actually represents the way in which I live my life: I risk putting myself out on a limb, hoping that I am on the verge of finding something remarkable...but often end up with nothing of the sort. I can't even begin to describe how painful, at times, it is to live this way. especially in the midst of so much 'unremarkability'. You would think I would learn. You would think that I would climb down and sit in a Lazy Boy recliner and zone out and watch TV. But I can't. I'm just not built that way. 

     As I looked around one last time for something remotely positive that a bird's nest could symbolize, I found a page about birds that stated "In many cases birds symbolise your thoughts about the future and the possibility that something may or may not happen." Bingo. It's not the mere presence of the bird/nest/etc...it's what you do with it. When you dream of a crow it's generally seen as a bad omen; your deepest self is convinced that something bad is going to happen. When you find a nest at the foot of a tree, the ability to hope that it will lead to something good reveals a deep resiliancy and desire for things to be well. I have a heart that genuinely longs for life, for something remarkable. And it is because I have stood in the face of so much less than that that I am resilient. not cold. not closed up. but open to the possibility that as I (once again) inch out on a limb, this might just be the time that I find something truly extraordinary. 

My Art History Professor always said to take pictures of a sculpture next to something for scale. 

So, here you have the nest AND my moccasin. 

All will be well,

and all will be well,

and all manner of things will be well.

- Julian of Norwich-

tlk