Eat Like a Bird

It was early Monday morning and I was packing up after a week on Calypso when I noticed a blue, gray pigeon floundering in the harbor. It desperately flapped its waterlogged wings in what soon became a death struggle to escape the water’s grip. My heart went out to the pigeon when I noticed the large white seagull circling overhead.

After several minutes the pigeon became still and the gull quickly settled into the water a few feet away. I turned away realizing the inevitable outcome. However, my attention was soon drawn back to the scene by the squawking of gulls competing for a meal.

Later after a long day back at work in Silicon Valley, I was heading home as the sun was setting in the Coyote Valley in South San Jose. I was crossing the plaza when I saw a beautiful golden eagle pecking at what appeared to be a squirrel’s body. I paused as the incredible bird noticed my approach, we gazed at each other in the dimming light separated by a mere 15 yards.

As I contemplated retreating and leaving the bird to its meal, it unfolded its huge wings and with several effortless flaps, floated up to the corner of the cafeteria. With our gaze fixed together, I cautiously approached the squirrel’s body, halfway expecting the great bird to swoop down to reclaim its prize. The majestic golden eagle again unfolded its wings, swooped from its perch and caught a thermal up and away from the lab.

I passed by the squirrel’s remains, surgically splayed on the sidewalk, hoping that the regal bird would return to complete it’s meal when I realized the dichotomy in my feelings between the eagle and the gull. The former had solicited admiration while the later only received my contempt.

In that moment as I considered what message the eagle and the gull presented me, I recalled the flock of brown pelicans gliding over the Monterey Bay that I had witnessed a few days before. The realization came that there is a need for both the predacious golden eagle and the scavenger seagull, but there is also a place for the wandering brown pelican riding the air currents, exploring the great oceans and living off the sea’s bounty.

Both the eagle and the gull deserve respect as they labor in their nitch in nature, as do we all as we toil in our day to day activities. But like in nature where there is a place for the wandering pelican, we too can find a time and place to explore and live off life’s abundant bounty. The challenge is to recognize the opportunity for transition and to seize the moment.

Bon Voyage, Jay