Last Friday I had an experience of pure unmitigated joy. A friend was coming over to my house first thing in the morning to discuss heart intelligence. As I opened the door, I noticed he was looking at something outside my living room window.
“Hey Dennis, take a look. It looks like this pigeon is dying.”
A pigeon laid on its back on my porch and it looked to me like it was gasping for its last breath. I didn’t know what to do. I know nothing about birds and had no idea how to help. No answers, no intuition, nothing. We went inside my house and just five seconds later I said:
“I have to do something. Can you give me a minute?”
I went back outside and fully took in the sorrowful scene. The pigeon was barely moving and all I could see was suffering. My mind had no healing answers but I knew I had to touch the pigeon. So I placed my finger tips on the bird’s left wing.
In an instant, the bird came to life and flew away. My whole being went into a state of bliss. My thoughts were completely halted and I relished in this momentary piercing of the veil. I had witnessed one of God’s creatures through the perception of death and defeat. The pigeon laying on its back, helpless, with every visible sign of death’s door approaching. All it needed was a helping hand, to help it not just come back to life but to feel fully alive and to soar.
It may have just been my perception. A bird aficionado out there might inform me that birds get stuck on their backs all the time. No matter. What I know is that I thought the bird was dying and in a moment, everything changed.
Perhaps this was an example of a shamanic experience. One in which nature’s creatures teach us to view life differently. Is there a deeper message in this story for me? For us all? When all seems hopeless and we feel like our dream is coming to an end, a helping hand comes our way that maybe, just maybe might be all we need to soar.
