A bird just died in my hand.

[rug]

My daughter was looking out the window and saw the cat trotting with the bird in its mouth. By the time we got outside and chased the cat away the bird was lying on its side in the grass moving its feet and slowly opening its beak. I picked it up and within a minute it had stopped moving. The kids buried it, and yelled at the cat.

I have held my mother while the nurse was inserting a tube in her nose vainly trying to save her. I held my infant daughter thrashing from a fever that soon killed her.

There are no greater lives, nor lesser lives.

We are all so vulnerable. We seek each other out to draw strength from our pain. If we ever learn anything, it is to cause no pain, to create no sadness, to prevent others from causing pain.

Peace to all here who are suffering, in pain, and overwhelmed with sadness.

A bird died in my hand tonight. I am still here. We are still here.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

1. I've turned into the Birdman of Alcatraz, except I'm not in Alcatraz...

...I really wanted to feed the birds, but couldn't afford a decent feeder, so I looked at this spot at the base of a small tree in my back yard and thought "I'll just put the seed on the ground, right here." I'd remembered from my old home in Campbell that the sparrows and finches and other small birds that actually ate out of the feeder spilled a lot of seeds, which would quickly be scarfed up by the mourning doves, so I figured they could ALL eat from the same table.

They see me slide open the patio door and take their "ready positions." They also wait for the lawn sprinkler for baths and drinks. I've seen them hopping up and down on the garden hose and sprinkler in a vain attempt to turn it on.

I look at them, and they are so happy and making so damned much noise, and with all of the ridiculous stuff going on in the world right now...my own personal world, and the big world that surrounds us all...I cannot tell you how much peace and joy I get on a daily basis from that little collection of critters right outside my home office.

"Peace to all here who are suffering, in pain, and overwhelmed with sadness" indeed...I've seen so much pain this year, in the faces of the people I love and the faces of my clients and sometimes when I look in the mirror. It doesn't take an epiphany to bring life back into focus. It just takes a little, powerful moment. Like the one you had.

Too bad you posted this in the Lounge, because it is most certainly "recommend-worthy." I'm just gonna pretend that I was able to recommend it anyway.

:toast:

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. *hugs for a beautiful post*

[LeftyFingerPop]

3. Post of the decade.

Simply wonderful sentiment.

And I am sorry for your pain.

[dana_b]

4. okay - now I'm tearing up!

beautiful post.

[Maine-ah]

29. me too, dana_b.

:cry:

[Shell Beau]

5. I am sorry. All of that sounds awful.

[lost-in-nj]

6. I had a baby

bird in my driveway

it yelled at me

so we stayed away

I truly hope it learned how to fly
I could have rub over it


just a plain brown bird.... but so cute

saw the parents.....
so they might have helped


lost

[S n o w b a l l]

7. Thank you for this beautiful post, rug.

:hug:

I'm so sorry to hear of your family's loss.

[LostInAnomie]

8. That's great, but be sure to wash your hands like crazy.

Birds a disease on wings.

[nuxvomica]

9. A beautiful and liberating message

I needed to read something like that, around now, so thank you.

[Frosty1]

10. Yes we are still here

Thank You rug

[Kali]

11. watching a small animal die can bring on all kinds of painful and sad feelings.

I am not able to view all life as the same, but I am so sorry for the losses you have experienced. Especially your child.

[Ahpook]

12. Hard fact of nature:(

I've been watching my rabbit friends get picked off one by one by a hawk. The hawk came around a few months ago and has had his time here.

I watched these babies grow. What can you do? :(

[backwoodsbob]

18. the cats here kill 10 birds a week

a chicken hawk dive bombed one of my shepperds not long ago.

This shit happens

You really have a life moving experience because your cat killed a bird?

wow

come to my place..animals kill each other every day.My shepperds are masters at killing groundhogs..the cats kill birds left and right.

Nature fights back..we lost three dogs in a year to a bear.

Nature happens

[Obama2012]

23. Three dogs to a bear?

Really? I have a hard time believing that.

Or that a chickenhawk divebombed a ShepHERD. I'm assuming a "sheppard" is a Shepherd.

[backwoodsbob]

25. you have a hard time believing we as three homes up here

lost three dogs to bears in a year?

Little bear...my runt shepperd

fred..the neighbors terrier

molly..the other neighbors chow mix

We HAVE lost three dogs to bears and HOW DARE YOU insinuate I am lying...fuck off

[flvegan]

24. They do. Proven by you shooting that one family dog a couple months ago.

[backwoodsbob]

26. yep and wont back down from it

does it make you feel like a man to bring it up over and over?

Do you also bring up my work with PAWS?

Do you also talk about my rescue work?

Fuck off

[flvegan]

27. Wasn't it your nephew's dog?

You're the one that so proudly bragged about it, so I'm just helping you out, tough guy.

[backwoodsbob]

28. sure was

I was the third one it had attacked.

When I got back from the hospital I shot it

Now I put you on ignore

[Ptah]

20. You could build a hawk-proof run for the rabbits.

[tigereye]

13. hug for you, rug

thanks for sharing your thoughts.


:hug:

[Ptah]

14. peace to you and yours

[LeftyFingerPop]

15. Kick. Much respect to the OP. n/t

[Moondog]

16. + 1

[nuxvomica]

17. This deserves some more time on the front page

:kick:

[enigmatic]

19. great post

:thumbsup:

[fizzgig]

21. beautiful words

and spot on

[omega minimo]

22. Rug, that is so damn beautiful.

And speaks to what I have been feeling lately. If you don't mind, this is not to shift topic but underline that magic connection you are expressing so clearly, simply, beautifully:

I saw Ted Kennedy at McDonald's this morning
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6410950


Teddy Kennedy's death underscores Martin Luther King's legacy, also
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6402090

Caroline Kennedy....such a heart for her uncle....
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6415499


If you don't mind, I am going to link this thread in my Compassion thread. I will be around for the next hour, if you want to tell me to remove it, I will.

Thank you.

[LynzM]

30. (((hugs)))

Thank you for this, rug... and many hugs for the pain and losses that you have suffered. :hug:

[eowyn_of_rohan]

31. So very beautiful and true...

Wish I knew you