Self Reflection

It began on Easter. We heard tapping at the window. Initially it was just now and again, but then it became more frequent and more intense. Some investigation revealed it was a robin and after consulting bird-loving friends and the internet, we discovered that it's mating season and apparently this bird was protecting his territory. He saw his own reflection and was essentially attacking himself as a show of strength. 

At first it was bewildering, then annoying and then downright infuriating. In case you didn't know, birds wake up at the very crack of dawn, when the sky is still dark and that's when he would unleash his onslaught. I tried playing owl sounds out the window. The first time I did that, the robin stopped attacking, looked around, took a dump and then flew away. Nothing like a bigger, tougher bird to mark a territory! But then he came back. So I put a picture of a bad@$$ looking owl in the window and again, that worked for a while but he came back. I tried ringing the obnoxiously loud cowbell at him but that only agitated him more and made his attacks more vicious. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a fan of birds and this was downright maddening. I took it on personally and began climbing right next to the window and when he flew down to the ground, I would run outside in the frigid air to chase him into the neighbor's yard. He angrily chirped at me and I yelled back at him. 

The Sunday he attacked the window by the door he was so gladiatorial he actually drew blood- and lots of it. Check out the video:

As these assaults continued, I was blown away at how much this bird would hurt himself just to defend what he perceived to be his. That tree in the above photo is stunning as it blooms in the spring and instead of enjoying it, this bird was literally shedding blood as he beat himself up. My opinion of birds fell even further as I saw this one become more and more violent, angry, and ugly. 

It occurred to me this is a bit like the world today. In trying to defend our territory we can't truly see what's in front of us. We ignore the fact that all the fighting makes us ugly. We end up beating ourselves up more than the other person as we become more belligerent, more contentious. We end up crapping all over the place in the pursuit of something that isn't really as big as it seems in the reflection. If only we could enjoy our reality- appreciate the beauty surrounding us- we would be so much happier.