falling bird and swooping bird

                                   swooping mother bird

Experiencing God can be the most meaningful thing in life. The God of my understanding is experienced in my Catholic faith in an actual historical way; we believe that God revealed himself in flesh and blood in a place and time in the personage of Christ.  Through the healing of ancient spiritual principles found in my twelve step program, God is experienced in a personal miracle of sobriety each day.  My cross turned out to be a precious gift.  

It is the most interesting thing in this world; how we each find a Higher Power beyond ourselves. I have friends who only know God as the Great Unknown, Creative-Mind-of-the-Universe.  Even the agnostics seem to find a Power Greater than themselves, although theirs is a difficult road.

Questioning ourselves in self examination:  if religious, are we finding a relationship with God?  Or going through the motions imagining that some formula will work in our lives? If I can only remember the formula?  While others are spiritually egotistical, believing their personal spirituality is so far advanced that it would be a waste of time to contemplate the words of a saint from 500 years ago.

We humans find understanding best sometimes in ordinary experiences like the following.

Earlier this week I was trimming a bush in my backyard and to my amazement a baby bird fell out of its nest, the frantic mother was swooping at my head as violently as possible.  A neighbor helped place the tiny Robin back in the nest and now all seems to back to normal. For Many weeks the mother Robin had been attacking me, dives, swoops and I could never figure out where the nest was located. The father bird mostly just stayed busy searching for worms but attacked a few times. He seemed not as interested in attacking a 200 pound man. The mother was fearless and effective as each day my meditation area had to move.

 We have a 50 foot 90 year old Pecan tree and this bird builds her nest in a 5 foot tall bush directly behind my meditation area. Scanning the yard for weeks to find the was just like finding God; both were found when in the last place I had looked.

Our four year old daughter and the two neighbor girls got to witness the beauty of the baby bird reunited with the mother, father and sibling. The look of awe on their faces said it all. We all were alive and in the moment it was profound.

Religion and spirituality merged in the cathedral of the bird’s nest.

Have a meaningful Holy Week.

Pax,

Dave