The Little Bird Can Fly: A Short Story
I was the mother. I heard my little chicks chirping, crying for food. The three of them sitting in the nest, high up in the tree.
The ground was covered with the rich color of the brown pine needles. It was smooth and had lots of space between the trees. There was a sense of peace and beauty in this natural order so inviting you wanted to roll on the earth. Around us was the luscious green of so many leaves enriched by the nutrients of the sun. I knew the sky was not far away. I could see rays of sunlight between some of the branches reflecting off of the leaves.
My son cried to me. “I know the nest is a bit of a mess. I keep helping support it by breaking apart and adding the twigs that fall. The nest is strong, but I cannot fly. Please feed me. Please feed me. Won’t you support me? Please see my condition. I am doing my best to hold the nest together. Will you feed me?”
I looked at my child feeling bewildered by the request. I was glad the nest was strong and uncomfortable with the mess. It churned the cells inside me making it hard to fly as freely. I knew he was my child and in his despair I wanted to feed him. I wanted to soothe him and ease his suffering. He was hungry. I wanted to fulfill my motherly duties yet something felt strange about feeding him. He did not leave and he did not stop chirping.
Then I remembered I was once a child in this nest hoping he would feed me. I chirped and I chirped and I chirped. Louder and louder and louder. Sometimes he would throw me one of the worms from mom. It satiated my hunger momentarily but was never enough. There were only so many worms he was getting and only a few he could share or he would starve too. I wanted more and it was never enough.
It finally occurred to me he is not my mother. He is my brother. I cannot depend on him for the worms. I must seek it from the Mother. I must feel it inside. Determined not to ask for worms from my brothers and sisters anymore, I grew my wings and flew out of the nest.
Now I am looking down at my child as if I am the mother. I remember now. I am only his sister. He must fly too. I want to fly freely again. I relaxed and gave him space. “Please join me in the air,” I thought. “Life is free up here. You can fly. You will not even care to seek worms up here. There is no hunger, only freedom, joy, love, peace. Divine Mother will feed you. She can carry your burdens. Relax into her hands and you can go places you have never gone before. Give her your troubles. Please fly with me. Come into the light.”
