The singing presence !

 

I noticed that this purple Sunbird comes to the same flight station each morning and sings tunefully for a while, before it moves on to its next station. It changes its direction a few times during this stop over and sings in each direction. 

For a bird, its bird calls have many purposes. One purpose that I notice which is common with most birds, is to make known its presence in each territory that it occupies, during its flight movements. It is one way it establishes its right to be present without being intimidated by   other intruding birds at its flight station. 

I have noticed only exceptionally that a crow or a Tree pie might chase a small bird from its flight station. 

This admirable regard for other birds in the avian behaviour is a significant lesson to learn from.

There is enough space for all birds in the avian geography. 

When the Israel-Palestine war gets intensified, with huge loss of human lives, property and facilities, along with painful suffering and deprivation of basic needs with thousands displaced from their homes, I wonder whether civil liberties are displaced by aggressive mind set. The Palestine government focussed to turn hostile to its neighbour by taking Israelis hostage and killing many. Israel in turn is now chasing a terrorist group to its extinction. The mind set of harming a neighbour and the neighbour retaliating with least regard for civilian life is an ugly story of territorial invasion. 

I was at a meeting few days ago, where Counsellor's from different places came together to explore ways to support families. One message I picked up from the conversations was that,  when the family life became stressful, it became the nidus for disturbing trends in societal anthropology.  

The 'clanish' mind set, which we thought would fade away when people have more facilities and prosperity, is not true. The selfish pursuit is intense to establish supremacy. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, the recent American attitude of racial thinking occupying some political leaders, the conflict between two communities in Manipur, the Palestine-Israel war, the fourth since Israel came into being, and a similar situations in Pakistan, Myanmar, and some African nations, tell us of a world that is at a melting point. The United Nations Organisation is weak and least reconciling in its mission. 

A Sunbird through its bird calls tell us that there is enough reason to sing and stop all forms of aggression.

While at the Counsellor's meeting, I realised how parents through aggressive language inflicts psychic injury to their children. A simple threat, 'If you do not eat, I will tell your teacher and she would punish you', a commonly used tactic by parents to make a child eat, in itself is  stressful to a child at pre-school level. It dawned on me,  that home is the place where more child friendly nurture is needed. 

To love,  would mean to disarm ourselves of all forms of subtle or overt ways to manipulate and subdue others.

How low we go down in morality, if we work to displace others to prosper our selfish cause and impose our control! 

A Sunbird gifts us with its tuneful singing each morning. 

What is the gift that I can offer to others today!

Dulcie comes and gives me a lick and sits down to look at me intently. Only when I stroke her, she would move away. 

A bird sings; a dog licks... there are multiple ways, the language of love is expressed all around us. 

This world is destined to be a better place of peace and hope!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)