I Am that Bird. Are You?

How many times in life does someone unknown come and sit in your house, regularly, for some days, and disappear suddenly, without notice? Not very often, right? Well, this happened to me not very long ago, when a cute little bird just came by flying from out of the blue and sat on the leaf of a plant just outside my living room. She came and sat on the same leaf of the plant outside, everyday without fail, and without chirping or even moving, she almost said everything and made a connection with me as well as others passing by and looking at her. As soon as I saw her, the first thought that came into my mind was that she was just like any human being who wanted to sit silently for some moments and enjoy the company of one’s own soul, forgetting the rest of the world, listening to their breath, the music of the cool breeze, sometimes just sitting and feeling a drop of tear roll down your cheek and feeling the warmth of that tear turn into coldness, the coldness that represents the world’s indifference towards some of the feelings that he has always considered to be the most important and noticeable thing in the world. Sometimes even sitting and thinking becomes a big thing in this world, as there is not enough peace left, to talk with oneself, sit, relax and think, to design a life of one’s dreams, to think about what he has done and what he needs to do, love oneself. We just need to sit quietly like that bird, in a corner, observe things, think about every and anything we feel like and be happy, once in a while. We just need to get out of our comfort zones, out of a good convenient company for a while and sit silently, observe what’s happening in and around, outside what we already know.

It’s always been said that being overly dependent on something or someone is always disastrous. And we have always been increasingly dependent on something or someone, so much that when it is unavailable even for just some seconds we are uncontrollably hurt. And this goes the same for both humans as well as machines. Humans are equally dependent on other humans as well as machines, and this tendency has made them fall for almost everything that seems like a good idea for getting them engaged in happy activities. Endless innovations and inventions always create comfortable environment for us to live, work and manage many a things in our lives these days, but we never realize when we become a victim of over dependence on a laptop, a mobile phone, a car, a cup of tea or coffee for working late in the night or even on a person in office or at home.

This dependence can be tackled if taken care of at the right time and in the right way. Have you ever seen a mother who is worried about her child not being able to leave the habit of sucking his thumb or having milk only out of a bottle, or always looking for one specific toy for playing? It is really very interesting how she handles this dependence of the kid. She would usually give something better and more interesting or attractive to the kid, so that he stops paying attention to the old one and starts depending on the new one. This was just an instance of wrong way of trying to getting rid of a habit. The right way could have been slowly taking away that thing from the kid so that he has to come out of his habit. This is called getting out of the comfort zone. This is what that little sparrow did! She got out of her comfortable nest, flew away and came to some unknown place, and sat there till the day she found herself, found her share of life. She taught this very vital thing to me – “Without leaving their comfort zone, one cannot achieve extraordinary things in life.”

I never knew that a little bird could teach so many big things to me about life, just in 7 days. During those 7 days I used to wait for her to come back every evening and feel the most wonderful relief when she came chirping and whistling to sit upon that leaf and keep  staring at one place for the whole evening, night  and till the next sunset! Those 7 days changed a lot in my life and so can they do to yours or anyone else’s life. She used to sit alone and asked for nothing during those 7 days she was there, this shows how not getting a pay for giving someone happiness or making someone smile is good, and that it’s not always just professional, and that even if we are a stock broker, a career counsellor, a chef, a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer, a banker or an entrepreneur, it is sometimes good to serve without pay, if it somewhere somehow makes someone happy, and that it is sometimes good to not get something but only the happiness of giving someone something that you can and the satisfaction of being the reason of some stranger’s smile.

She taught me the way to handle problems calmly. She taught me to stay cool in different situations. She taught me to love unconditionally. She taught me to keep myself composed even in situations where others shout and scream and lose control. She taught me to wear a smile without a reason. She taught me to not care if I do not get anything but a smile in return for what I’ve ever done. She taught me to carry on when nothing is there in the name of a ‘good sign’ as they call it. She taught me to not lose that shine in our eyes, that excitement, whatever happens. She taught me to observe and then react, not react and then observe. She taught me to be patient when things go wrong and when nothing comes up to my mind. She taught me to not lose hope no matter whatever happens and everything falls apart. She taught me to not be dependent on anything that is not meant to be. She taught me to never expect anything, from anyone, which is the key to always being happy. She taught me to remain who I am and not try to be someone else who is liked by all, she taught me to be myself. This is what I am now going to do. Just be that cute little birdie, be that calm and composed little birdie that knows nothing but peace, smile and unconditional love. Be that bird, who can fly when she wants, but can even sit silently and calmly when needed. Fly, smile, be happy, be cool, be calm, observe, relax, and fly once again! I am that bird. Are you?