A few days ago, driving home through the foothills, as my daughter and I crested a hill, we saw a red-tailed hawk diving towards the ground across the small valley. She captured our attention; we watched her mighty wings sweep her up, pause, and down as she plunged toward the ground with force and grace. We watched with awe as she pulled upward again, swirling and turning powerfully to the left and skyward. Then we saw a little bird that was the hawk's focus. She was hunting or haunting the tiny bird. I’m not sure how, but the small bird got away.
Did we see the end of a hunting session?
Was it play?
Had it been going on for hours, and we caught the tail end?
I don’t know, but it was clear that the hawk lost interest and landed on the top of a nearby power line.
In that pause, I thought it was over, and then I saw the little bird, a dove, a wren, a sparrow, I’m not sure, sweep around, and fly with purpose and precision straight at the sitting hawk. Right at the hawk's head, the little bird flew, and the mighty hawk bowed its head, unfazed by the aggressive swipe from the little bird.
The curves on the road I was driving took me out of view. I don’t know the end.
I know I can’t get that scene out of my mind.
On different days, at different times, I can relate to both the mighty, majestic hawk and the assertive, bold bird, outrunning the hawk and then swooping back to take one more “I have every right to be here” strike. I loved the animating energy of both birds that day.
The grace and boldness with which the hawk flew through the air, we could feel it. Courage and grace are contagious; seeing a creature or someone moving with grace and boldness ignites the same sense in others.
It wasn’t only the hawk that was bold; the little bird was bold, brave, and courageous. She could have just flown away, landed in a tree, and sighed from relief after that hunting or haunting hawk. But no, she gathered herself, paused, stood her ground, and showed her right to fly and occupy the same air as the hawk.
Size and power don’t matter when values and identity are clear. The little bird knew her worth, knew her place, knew who she was, and was willing to fly with bravery and courage at the hawk.
I returned to this scene earlier this week.
I’ve been overthinking a project I want to start. The overthinking started this summer; maybe I should just read more, perhaps clarity will come if I just wait, and possibly the next step will become apparent when I talk with that person. Overthinking has me stuck and not moving forward. Magical thinking (if I do nothing, something will happen….like magic) is causing me to risk letting some beautiful connections and opportunities go to waste.
This week I decided to start. Make the notes, follow the steps, act as if I know what I’m doing, and maybe, soon, I will! I’m trying to channel the bold and courageous energy of the little bird. She could have (should have?) flown away. She didn’t; she claimed her space; she made her value known to the big, mighty hawk. The little bird didn’t overthink her response; she didn’t wait for permission or inspiration. She moved, followed her instincts, and claimed her right to fly. She didn’t let size or status overwhelm her. The tiny bird didn’t overthink her actions; she listened to her instincts and her intuition and did what she was made to do.
Me we do the same….
This is the second piece I’ve written about lessons from little birds and hawks; you can read my first essay from July right here.
A blessing for overthinking.
You find yourself stuck in the swirl of thoughts, ideas, and plans. May you fly. May you, like the little bird, claim your right to be. May your mind settle and calm. And in that pause, may your unique path become clear. In the cacophony of voices, instructions, preferences, and values, may you know yours with clarity, purpose, and peace.
Do you relate more to the haw or the tiny bird? Why?
What are you overthinking in your life? How can you fly at it this week? Do you need to make a list? (I like to make lists on sticky notes, they aren’t too big, and I know any list will be short but doable.)
Agatha of Little Neon by Claire Luchette
I love a good nun book. My favorites include In This House of Brede, Five for Sorrow and Ten for Joy, Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden and Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen, and Revelations y Mary Sharratt. Agatha of Little Neon is a modern-day #nunlit book; I think it’s set in the late ‘90 or early 2000s. It is about four young sisters (because nuns are cloistered and sisters are not) who are forced to relocate when their pa ish is declared bankrupt. They are sent from caring for babies to running a halfway house for men and wome on the road to sobriety. I enjoyed he story and the writing. It was thought-provoking, sad, and laugh-out-loud funny. A story about the nuns taking a road trip and a tru k driver is just classic! I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by the author.
“What I liked about the abbess was that she never told anyone what they should have done. She wasn’t interested in blighting anyone with shame. She dealt in procedures and plans.”
― Claire Luchette, Agatha of Little Neon
“There should be at least a room, or some corner where no one will find you and disturb you or notice you. You should be able to untether yourself from the world and set yourself free, loosing all the fine strings and strands of tension that bind you, by sight, by sound, by thought, to the presence of other men. Once you have found such a place, be content with it, and do not be disturbed if a good reason takes you out of it. Love it, and return to it as soon as you can, and do not be too quick to change it for another.”
Thomas Merton
“Whatever may be the tensions and the stresses of a particular day, there is always lurking close at hand the trailing beauty of forgotten joy or unremembered peace.”
Howard Thurman
Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone's face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love?' These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will be many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.
Henri Nouwen
“Every day we think about the aggression in the world. Everybody always strikes out at the enemy, and the pain escalates forever. We could reflect on this and ask ourselves, ‘Am I going to add to the aggression in the world?’ Everyday we can ask ourselves, ‘Am I going to practice peace, or am I going to war?”
Pema Chödrön
“Hidden beauty is waiting in every crumb. Life wants to lead you from crumbs to angels, but this can happen only if you are willing to unwrap the ordinary by staying with it long enough to harvest its treasure.”
Macrina Wiederkehr