Chaos is smothering joy faster than heat on a Portland biker.
We see . . .
- tragedies in the Florida condo collapse
- Texas and California electricity shortage
- heat melting the Pacific Northwest
Plenty of news to be down.
But, one of God’s tiny creatures shows us how to choose joy.
Joy in a moment
Hummingbirds and vultures live in deserts.
They encounter chaos differently.
Vultures live off the dead, the past.
But, hummingbirds live off blossoms, the present.
Each bird finds what it’s looking for.
So do we.
Life is generally directed by what we look at.
The direction we look.
That’s why Jesus told us to remember birds.
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Mat. 6: 26-27
Maybe they worry less because they live in the moment.
Arthur Gordon once asked actor Charles Coburn the key to life.
“The moment,” he said, “to act—or not to act. The moment to speak—or to keep silent. On the stage, as every actor knows, timing is the all-important factor. I believe it’s the key in life too. “ Arthur Gordon interview with Charles Coburn/ A Touch of Wonder
Don’t worry. Stay in the moment. How?
Awareness
Hummingbirds are smart. Alert.
Their brain is 4.2% of body weight and ours is 2%.
Studies show they remember every flower.
They remember where the nectar is.
Movement
How do they find nectar in deserts?
Movement.
They can dive 60 mph and fly at 30 mph . . .
- forward
- backward
- upside-down
Problems are solved when seen from different angles.
Skill
Joy won’t come your way sitting around . . .
- stuck on a problem
- stuck in the past
We get stuck because we’re afraid.
Too afraid to work out problems.
Reminds me of a priest and a layman who went to a boxing match.
One of the boxers made the sign of the cross before the bell. The layman asked the priest, “Will that prayer help him in this fight?” The priest said, “Certainly, if he knows how to box.”
Choose joy every day with faith, awareness, movement and skill.
Or, be stuck in a hole.
Love this viewpoint Steve. Hummingbirds have always mesmerized me. The video had wonderful facts that I had never heard. I choose hope through God’s smallest of creations.
With you all the way Jim!