My food for thought this week is different than normal, and I wonder if any of you feel the same as me.
I love to sit and watch the many varieties birds in our the garden and in every place I go. I always have done.
As a child I often use to wish I was a bird and could fly, often trying to do so! I jumped out of many trees and even the shed roof!
In our garden in Spain we often have Eagles flying over the land hovering effortlessly, magnificent in their flight.
I love the sound of the whoosh of wings and cackle of the huge shinning black crows,
The graceful elegance of the Swifts & Swallows dipping & diving over the swimming pool.
The scurry of the quails as they run through the vegetable garden.
The sound of the screech owls as they perch on the over head Electric Cables at night.
And of course the waking sound of the Cockerels’, early in the morning.
In Bahrain I am often woken by the gentle cooing of the ring necked doves on my window sill.
Birds have the wonderful freedom of flight, they make everything seem to effortless and graceful. They just take off and land when they feel like it.
They flock together for company and they travel both alone and in flocks. They see the world from so many different angles or so it seems to me.
I really do not like to see birds in a cage, do not belong in cages.
In Aviaries where they have lots of room to fly maybe it is not so bad, but when I see huge beautiful exotic birds and birds of prey in cages I feel very sad, and I wonder why people feel the need to trap such beautiful creatures with wings that are made to fly in cages.
Is it because they themselves feel trapped in a wingless body and so wish to prevent the beautiful bird from flying ?
Does it fill a primitive need to control something of beauty and magnificence?
What right do we as humans have to cage any bird or animal come to that ?
Why do we also put cages around ourselves in our minds ? When we have the freedom of thought and can achieve anything we wish. Why do we as a human being control our freedom and take it from ourselves and from others.
I want to share a poem with you, by Maya Angelou, that was shared with me by a caring friend, who feels the same. I hope you enjoy it and I hope it gives you room for thought,
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
