The movements of leaves on the Chiku tree in our garden drew my attention to this Olive Bellied Sunbird in its morning flight in search of nectar. I have a suspicion that Sunbirds, the purple breasted or olive bellied have considerable ability to feed on nectar even while fluttering over flowers. They are quick and jittery in their movements that it is not easy to find them still in any position.
The above five pictures suggest how brisk they are in their movements. They do not give a message of stillness unlike many small birds who have a restful body behaviour!
While reading about their habitat and behaviour, I found that they are conditioned to move and fly high in the sky. It is during this flight they would catch a fly for their feed. In fact, when they make a nest, it is often hanging on a cable or a branch, appearing to hang precariously. They after making the nest abandon it for a week or so and return to lay the eggs.
There is something about their grooming behaviour which caught my attention.
A sunbird is about 12-14 cm in size. Anytime one sees a Sunbird, it looks groomed and ready for flight. It gives attention to keep the feathers tidy. The feathers shine and appear glossy. Its body is its asset to fly and move about between branches.
I have contacts with few people in our neighbourhood. Some are regular morning walkers and impress me as those, who in their middle age, live responsibly paying attention to wellness and stay away from any form of indulgences.
There are few others who by the time they are in the middle age, have become addicted to smoking, alcohol and other forms of passive abuse of their body. One of them with whom I have regular conversations, tells me that he drowns his struggles by drinking alcohol. The government opened new liquor outlets in our village recently as a part of promoting tourism.
Even when people who are alcohol dependent want to go through de-addiction therapy, they do not have places to go to as such facilities do not exist in villages.
The Sunbirds with their body grooming habits make a strong point: we live in our body and so attention to our body is an expression of our responsible stewardship. The body is the 'temple of God'. The spirit within us is the embodiment of God within us. The body bears the radiance of the inner glow of life we carry within us.
Ours is a soul embodied body! We live from within, in alignment with the ethos we choose for ourselves.
While listening to the debate in the parliament of India, yesterday, I got a sense that the political satire is disregardful of respect and worth we ought to attribute to each other. That is when I felt awful about the ethos we carry within ourselves towards ourselves and others. Our attitude towards others is a reflection of the ethos within towards ourselves! I felt at the end of listening to the debate that the political behaviour has a compulsion to harm others in order to promote one's ideology!
The Sunbirds live elegantly and bring a sense of the wellness they practice!
It is when we are well within, we see others through that optic of wanting to see others well!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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