yesterday, i was walking to my car and heard a pigeon. this is not especially unusual because there are pigeons all over the place, their presence just outside my house encouraged by the bird feeder hanging from one of the trees.
however, this pigeon caught my attention because it was loud, close and sounded strange. i looked down and saw this pigeon essentially pacing back and forth by the wheels of a car....
where his pigeon friend had been the wheel's unfortunate victim and was no longer with us.
y'all...
the pigeon was mourning the loss of his friend.
it was so sad and sweet and touching.
i honestly wish i had had a camera to capture the moment.
but it got me thinking.
about friends, family, community, etc.
being missed.
don't we all want to be missed and mourned like the poor pigeon was?
the kind of people that make the world, our communities, our families, and our friendships better because we are a part of them?
and isn't that what we're supposed to be doing, anyway? working to better our world, communities, families, and friendships?
and then i started thinking about loss.
there are friends, family members, places, events, etc., that are no longer with us, whether through death, moving, the simple act of growing apart, or miscellaneous circumstances that can't necessarily be changed.
and they aren't part of our lives anymore.
and the loss can't be brushed aside.
sometimes it must be directly confronted.
other times, quietly accepted.
but almost at all times, it should be mourned.
missed.
cherished.
because these people/places/events are a part of our stories. good or bad, positive or negative, they help form us to be who we are.
we are connected to them in ways we can't always explain.
and so the loss hurts.
but sometimes it propels and encourages as well.
let's try to be like those pigeons.
to live in such a way that we are missed when we're gone, because we've shared a tremendous Light and Love with our communities, our world, our families, or friends.
but also, to mourn the losses we've felt and face everyday.
to not be afraid to let these losses wash over us and feel them.
and to let them help us move forward, cherishing the connection we had to who or what we lost and embracing who we were, who we are and who we will become, despite (and maybe because of), our loss.
however, this pigeon caught my attention because it was loud, close and sounded strange. i looked down and saw this pigeon essentially pacing back and forth by the wheels of a car....
where his pigeon friend had been the wheel's unfortunate victim and was no longer with us.
y'all...
the pigeon was mourning the loss of his friend.
it was so sad and sweet and touching.
i honestly wish i had had a camera to capture the moment.
but it got me thinking.
about friends, family, community, etc.
being missed.
don't we all want to be missed and mourned like the poor pigeon was?
the kind of people that make the world, our communities, our families, and our friendships better because we are a part of them?
and isn't that what we're supposed to be doing, anyway? working to better our world, communities, families, and friendships?
and then i started thinking about loss.
there are friends, family members, places, events, etc., that are no longer with us, whether through death, moving, the simple act of growing apart, or miscellaneous circumstances that can't necessarily be changed.
and they aren't part of our lives anymore.
and the loss can't be brushed aside.
sometimes it must be directly confronted.
other times, quietly accepted.
but almost at all times, it should be mourned.
missed.
cherished.
because these people/places/events are a part of our stories. good or bad, positive or negative, they help form us to be who we are.
we are connected to them in ways we can't always explain.
and so the loss hurts.
but sometimes it propels and encourages as well.
let's try to be like those pigeons.
to live in such a way that we are missed when we're gone, because we've shared a tremendous Light and Love with our communities, our world, our families, or friends.
but also, to mourn the losses we've felt and face everyday.
to not be afraid to let these losses wash over us and feel them.
and to let them help us move forward, cherishing the connection we had to who or what we lost and embracing who we were, who we are and who we will become, despite (and maybe because of), our loss.
Comments
I forget often that grieving is a normal, natural part of life and if we don't participate in it, we miss out on the full development of our hearts. That being said, I miss you and the others that made up our Baltimore family. But because of your pigeon, I think I'll just embrace that for a while instead of rushing into the next thing to do.