February 7: The birds gather at certain spots along the beach. It is early. It must be part social,part breakfast time,part nature permitting her dance to take place. Whatever it is I always enjoy watching the movements, the shuffles,the take offs and gliding across the surface of the Gulf of Mexico.The birds make it look so easy and simple. No wasted energy. All done with such poetry. As I jog by I notice one bird all alone. Staring out over the Gulf. Standing on one leg it stares.
I stop. I stare at the bird and then out over the water to see if there is something to see.
A boat zips across the surface in the distance. Another boat is stopped getting its fishing lines organized. An early swimmer is already venturing into the surf. The sounds are all gentle ,natural sounds. The smells are all surf, sand and nature.
A time to contemplate. A time to reflect. A time to reevaluate. A time to relearn the art of patience, simplicity and compassion for the natural flow of it all.
All of a sudden the bird stared at me. Shook his head put his other leg onto the sand, stretched his wings and so lightly took flight,gliding across the surface of the water. It looked so simple at that moment.
Have both feet on the ground, look at the horizon, shake yourself a bit and take flight over the surface of your day. Learn how to fly in your own life.
Do you have your own secret of flying. What is it that permits you to glide across the surface of the day. And by the way…had no idea the age of the bird. It seems that only people keep track of that arbitrary number.
Fly today…at any age.