Blue Jays and Redbirds

The Extra Penny

Blue Jays and Redbirds


I have been rather contemplative over the last few months, okay, my life. Not a bad thing, but this morning I was watching the news for a few moments and realized that I didn’t like what was on. I didn’t want to hear anything on it, I didn’t want the noise. Period. I went out back as I often do early in the morning to have my quiet time, but I wasn’t really in my prayer/meditative state either. I just didn’t want to think, so I simply had my coffee and watched the birds. Quiet. Nature. Beautiful. For a moment…


The birds are fun to watch because they seem to know what they are doing. It amazes me because no one has to tell them what to do, they just know. As I watched a couple of redbirds and a Blue Jay in one of my willows I thought “How precious, they‘re going to play together”. Being an elementary educator and now counselor you just have that kind of simplistic hope, right? Not. Apparently birds are very territorial. Apparently, even though the Blue Jay had been in that tree morning after morning (I can vouch for it, I have seen it), the redbirds decided to become bullies. They were flying from one tree to the other fighting… pecking on the Blue Jays head! Yelling at it! At least I think they were yelling, I don’t speak bird, but they were loud! I wanted to yell at all of them and tell them to stop fighting. I wanted to scream “Why can’t you just play nice and all get along and share the willow tree?!?! It’s plenty big for all of you!?” But I realized, first of all, they are birds and would have no idea what I’m talking about. Secondly, they might peck my head. And thirdly, this is what God created them to do. They are acting how they are created to act in nature.


It made me think of how many times we want to yell at others “Why can’t you act the way I think you should act?” “Why can’t you do what I think you should be doing or what I would do if I were in that tree?” I don’t mean making allowances for evils or unkind ways; I mean simply letting others be who they were created to be. Were we not created differently on purpose? Were we not all hand –crafted by God for a reason because he loved us and saw a need that we all would fulfill? Why then do we want everyone to fit into our mold? I don’t mean we shouldn’t have certain expectancies on each other as far as kindness and of our friends and family; support, love, etc. I hope my close friends and family expect certain things from me because it lets me know that they believe in me. I am talking about putting rules and expectations on each other that are unreasonable simply because we think it will work in our tree.


So, with that, I let the birds duke it out. I don’t know who won because I needed to freshen my coffee and frankly, I figure the birds know what they are doing. Do we?


So, how did my morning of ‘not thinking’ go? I guess not well. You know, I have continually been told I think too much. Guess what, that’s how I am created. I love it. There’s a reason for it and if you try to change that about me, I’ll sic the redbirds on you.


Becky W.

June 7, 2012