Attitude of Gratitude

It's Wednesday and this is Bird Week in Debbieland. Earlier this week I received a robin, which sat in my lap catching its breath when released into my care by Harris, a woodland Maine coon I rescued a few years ago. Rarely does he kill anything he catches, and rarely has he caught a bird in the five years we have been together. That's his companion, Madre's, job.

I stroked the robin on its head and wings until it calmed, and sat with it under the desk snuggled into a nest-like spot while I worked. Checking on it about half an hour later, it flew! And I knew it was safe to set it free. It let me capture it again, and together we walked outside in the warm spring air and around the corner beyond Harris and Madre's territory. Before disappearing into the bush, it hopped, turned around, and thanked me. From that red-breasted beauty, gratitude spread from the inside out.

Yesterday a friend had a hummingbird land on him. Just sitting in a chaise lounge out back talking with a friend beside him under the moon, the tiny colorful wonder lighted and stilled the humans for a moment. In "hummingbird-speak," that could mean a few things: among them, courage, health, balance and the truth of beauty.  More about hummingbirds as animal totems may be found at http://hummingbirdworld.com/h/totem.htm.

Robins as a totem, it turns out, will stimulate new growth in all areas of one's life. Which is exactly where I'm at right now. A short description of robin's totem role may be found at http://www.linsdomain.com/totems/pages/robin.htm.

These are miracles. Without this wildness, what can we know? I once read there can be no great mental achievement without accompanying spiritual development. That statement was made by Nona during a channel I was reading about. The concept of spiritual development varies so widely. So many still think of it as religious study. As the robin and the humming bird show, spiritual development has little to do with religion and everything to do with faith and gratitude.

Today I received a sparrow from Harris. It is so unusual for him to catch a bird that I am paying attention. According to http://linsdomain.com/totems/pages/sparrow.htm, the sparrow reminds us to sing out our own song of dignity and self-worth. It shows us that even a common little bird can triumph. I've been feeling that way lately.

Harris' way of communicating with me this week is a gift I think may be related to his new lightness of being. A couple of months ago he went on the Hills weight loss diet. He lost about 1.5 pounds, and has been lighter on his feet, jumping while playing instead of rolling over on his back. He loves the crunchies, and his long fur has become extra fluffy. I have been thinking about trying the diet myself.

The Road

My career was raging. Then I had a lull. What next, I wondered. My Dad sent me a small book of quotes during that time. It was called, "The Road to Success is Always Under Construction." I opened the book only a couple of times. But it lived on my desk, it's title helping me go where I needed to go. My career picked up again.

It's been like that for my friend in Austin. After a month of sleeping in the bushes there with a case of shingles and only foods with capsacin to ease the pain, he rode the rail and somehow that experience took him where he needed to go. He found a room in a home an "Asian grandmother" had for rent. The neighborhood is safe, he said, though next to one filled with violence. All amenities are included along with electricity, cooking gas, water, and garbage collection, and he can store his trailer on the property. So, my friend has settled in comfortably.

Success is sweet.

From my friend I now hear about movies and cable TV programs he's enjoying, instead of how the drunks and crack dealers are stealing his stuff or aggressive about sharing themselves with him, and then assaulting him with verbal abuse. Relief and gratitude fill his every word and tone. He is lonesome, his friends are everywhere but near him, but he landed well. He is breathing, in and out, in and out, in and out. Looking around at what survival looks like at this point in his life.

My friend moved into the house April 1. It feels long-term to me. I have told him of your generous offers to send him books. Through the phone wires I can "see" him light up. You are making him feel recognized, and you are acknowledging his intelligence. You are feeding his entire being with your generosity. Please start packing.

I do not wish to post the address or my friend's name here, however. Please contact me directly for that information. If you attempt to post a comment here, it will come to me for moderating and I will get back to you if you include contact information. I will keep that confidential.

Thank you for your support.

If you still wish to send a book, please drop me a note.