Something I've Noticed About Birds

Thought for the day:


A bird should not be captured. If she is, she will not fly. And when she can, she will fly away.
 

A woman points out: "That's a conundrum!"

I respond: It's something I've noticed about birds. 

She replies: "Sometimes they will stay a while though. One never knows what a bird will do."

And I say:

I raised a dove. One time, she flew out my open door. When I called her name, she turned around and landed on my head. The next time she flew, she bolted. For days, I wandered the neighborhood crying out "Punchy!! Punchy!!" I positioned her cage, door open, on my roof. The neighbors must have thought I had gone mad. They would have been correct. I was mad with grief for another year. And yet, I truly wanted her to be happy and free.

 

Sometimes I still find myself looking closely at doves for the little yellow band I had fashioned for her leg. Doves don't live long enough for that, yet still sometimes I look.

My grief was partly worry. I had raised her. She had bonded with me. She would eat food from the dog's bowl while he ate. She would ride around on the back of the tortoise. She slept on the top edge of books while I read. I gave her fresh water. What would she do now, suddenly out in the big world? My grief was loss, but more, it was worry. I most wanted her to be happy and well. That was my lesson in true love.

May all beings be well.