Everyone Matters
Lessons from Mocking Birds and the Blue Jay Guardians
Years ago I was sitting on the back deck enjoying a cup of coffee watching the day begin. The birds were happy at the feeder munching away on this peaceful morning. On a nearby limb a Mocking Bird began his calls. Town Crier is what I called him. Each morning he would sit on the very top of a small tree in the back yard, and cry out his morning call. It's message took several minutes to complete covering the languages of almost every birds in the yard. He made it a point to say hello to them in their voice. He started each day acknowledging every one, that they counted, that they mattered. And perhaps bringing them up to date on the latest news in the community, happenings of the day? Like a Village Crier. When he finished his oration he would turn another direction and begin again making sure his voice carried to all the trees in the yard. Each morning he did his call several times until he was sure everyone had heard the Good Morning Greeting. Then he flew off to get on with his day. It brought comfort and warmth as I started my day listening to his daily greeting. It reminded me that everyone is special. That we all have our purpose.
Next in the morning routine the Blue Jays would show up at the feeder. I used to not really care for them much, as they tend to hog the feeder and eat what seems like more than their share. But one day I noticed something that changed my view. They spent their day spread about on the highest limbs in the yard where they could get a good view. They would call out every time a Hawk came in the area. They would scream loud and all the little birds at the feeder and around the yard would duck for cover. All would get silent except for the Jays calling. When the Hawk had left their alarms would stop and the little birds would slowly come back out once again enjoying the feeder and seeds on the bushes around the yard. The Jays were the sentinels, the Guardians of the Village. Their special purpose was to keep everyone safe. I even caught them doing false alarms sometimes. If it had been awhile since Hawks or other predator had come through one Jay would make the sound of a Hawk call. Then all the Jays would give their warning cry and the little birds would scatter for cover. A moment later they would give the all clear and the small birds would come out again. It was like a practice fire drill. Throughout the day I would take a moment and notice the Jays were always on guard spread about the tallest trees surrounding the yard. This was their specialty.
One day I was walking through the forest. Enjoying the stillness one finds amongst the pines. I loved the crispness of walking on dried pine needles and the smell of the forest. As I walked I noticed the Jays calling. They were slowly coming down the hill through the trees yelling and calling out their warning cry. Something was in the forest. A Cat perhaps? Lynx and Bobcats were common there. As are Fisher Cats, a large fierce Weasel. Their ring of warning calls was a large circle in the dense forest, slowly moving as the animal did. When the ring had moved so I was in it. I decided it was best to walk sideways and out of their ring. There are Mountain Lions there too, and sometimes a bear. So I listened and heeded their warnings.
The Jays were very clearly the Sentinels of the Forest. The guardians that looked after everyone from their high watch posts. They served an important roll in the forest, in our local village of mixed feathers, and fur, and me being the curious fur less one. From that day on I always welcomed the Jays at the bird feeder. I would talk to them and thank them for their service. I Blessed that the seeds may help them stay strong and keep their eye sights keen. And asked that they only eat what they needed, and share the rest with the others.
Clearly all the birds had their special purpose. Their unique talents. The Mocking Bird, the Jays and all the others as well. Specialties that I hadn't yet discovered, but suspected they knew. And I realized like them we each have our special purpose. We each do something different than anyone else, our special gift that God gave us. What is it that we carry, that we do in our unique way that we can share with those around us. What is our unique talent? We all matter in this world. And yes, as I discovered, even the noisy Jays.
