Sometimes We Limp

This week has been one of those incredibly grueling kind of weeks, one that takes all of your energy and skill to just survive in the navigation of it.

Nicki and I both feeling the strain, decided on the spur of the moment to load all of the children into my van and head to the local park with a lake to feed the ducks. It turned out to be the best 2 hours of the entire week for me and helped put things into perspective.

We approached the lake and began feeding the ducks and our attention became fixed on a bird that was perched over the edge with it's sights fixed on the water. We began to look at the bird and wondered what it was doing. Was it hungry, was something wrong and why was it just siting there not moving staring into the water? Then we noticed the bird's leg. The leg was clearly not functional and the bird limped very noticeably on it. Now the kids were hooked, we must help this bird!

We began trying earnestly to feed the bird some of our bread, but it ignored us and stared straight at the water with singular intent. Then we saw the bird dive into the water and come up triumphantly with a fish in it's mouth. The kids of course screamed and yelled, but then the bird turned and looked at me and I swear I saw pride on that bird's face. No joke! It was like the bird looked at me and said "Look what I can do, yes I am injured, but even limping I am getting along just fine".

Later some zoo workers came by and told us that this bird was born with the malformed leg and that the zoo keepers keep an eye on him, but that the bird does remarkably well taking care of itself.

Now here is the take away for me. Pema Chodron a famous author and spiritualist has a quote that I feel sums this situation up well. "Rejoicing in ordinary things takes guts. Each time we drop our complaints and allow everyday good fortune to inspire us, we enter the warrior's world."

Yes, sometimes I do feel like I am limping along facing battle after battle, but with the proper mindset all of those experiences will help to form who I am and ultimately will shape who I choose to become.