Back a few posts ago I shared photos of baby robins in a nest. Sadly, the poor little things didn't make it through a rain storm.
This gets me thinking about the sadness that occurs every minute in the animal and bird kingdoms. We humans have our heads so far under our own craziness, that we fail to think about those that share life alongside us. How sad is that, really.
Think of the mommas and papas that lose their babies, and they have to suffer the loss by themselves. Their life span is shorter than ours, and their power of endurance requires more than we can imagine. Every little bird that sits on our deck railing has its own life circumstances. This puts a new perspective on bird-watching.
Natural disasters like tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes must be horrific for them. Flooding and fires and diseases and heat waves add to their scope of suffering.....same as we humans endure and deal with. And, then there's the business of predators. Guess we all have them.....those who seek to harm us.
Yesterday I had my brain submerged in the final arguments in the Karen Read trial out in Massachusetts. The defendant's attorney's closing argument was stellar, and I will watch it multiple times. Anyway, somewhere yesterday I heard the words, "I stay in my own lane." Gosh, those words resonated with me. That explains my life to a T. At this stage, all I want is to be at peace and away from anyone who has the ability to shatter that contentment. Maybe the reason I have so much compassion for animals and birds is because I've been hurt so many times by so many people. The older I am, the easier it is for me to say this openly. I'm probably the only person on the globe who can sit in her retirement recliner, alone, and still get myself in scalding water.
When we get down to the nitty gritty, life can be challenging and overwhelming. If we add up relationships, society's pressures plus all the personal struggles we must overcome, life is one heck of a complex ocean to navigate. Just imagine the dysfunction, poverty, illnesses, disappointment and tragedies that happen every second of every day across the globe. Imagine the suffering.
Much of what happens in our lives is beyond our control. Some of it has a negative impact on us, others positive. It's how we handle ourselves and what choices we make that tells all. If each of us 8 billion has our own opinion and believe that our way is the best or right or only way, is it any wonder that we don't have peace?
We tend to judge the big picture from our individual vantage point or mindset. When we run into others who suffer differently and see things differently, then there's conflict. Has this ever happened to you? We are all color blind when it comes to life. We think in black and white.
I'm reminded of an old saying, "The more dirt we throw, the more ground we lose." Boy, if those words aren't biblical, I don't know what is. We, as a society, have reached the point where some of us are afraid of talking, because someone out there is just itching to weigh our every word and judge us. I can't be the only one in the universe who is staying in her own lane, in an attempt to survive our violent society and its uncountable acts of cruelty.
Maybe the answer to life is as simple as this: Live and let live. What do those four words mean? My mind perceives them to say that we should be tolerant of one another and not interfere in one another's life. It's all about mutual respect.
There's not one path.
There's not even the right path.
There's only your path.