Eagles

“Eagles: When they walk, they stumble. They are not what one would call graceful. They were not designed to walk. They fly. And when they fly, oh, how they fly, so free, so graceful. They see from the sky what we never see.”

My Father's family is from the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth with the advantage of having majestic mountains and the ocean close at hand without all the congestion of the urban feeling of Vancouver. I can't even begin to tell you how at home my soul and my song feels there. I absolutely love that place.

When I had my surgery a few years back, Dad sent me to Comox to recover before I returned to work. I spent a week by myself, no TV, no radio, no pressure; just books and the ocean out the back deck and the beauty of that wonderful place. While I was reading on the deck one morning a bald eagle flew by. It was majestic, inspiring and so natural and my heart just felt full at the magnificence of it all. Bald eagles nest in and around the valley and there are some places where you can come across dozens of mating pairs. If you ever wondered if there was a God, you know there is when you see these beautiful creatures soar through the air and hunt for their food.

I watched as this unbelievable creature soared through the air and played with the currents to seem as if, at times, he merely floated. I think he knew I was watching and was showing off because each time I looked up he would swing by the house and then cast himself even higher over the bay. It felt at times, like it does in the temple, or on the mountains sides or when I just know how wonderful this journey is really meant to be. I felt blessed to be the recipient of watching his great ability at flight.

I went for a walk the next day down to Goose Spit beach. All along the driftwood were dozens and dozens of eagles. I believe that someone had been feeding them there and as they walked along the beach I realized that in fact, they weren't nearly as graceful in their earth bound movements as they were in flight. How ironic was it that something so beautiful could be so awkward. I recalled thinking of all the many people I knew who had such enormous talents in one area and yet seemed so ordinary in others. That unless you were witness to these extraordinary gifts you would never really know of the magnificent abilities these people had in flight. How many people do we know that we really don't know just how amazing they really are. I wonder?

I think that I am going to go out of my way to truly see the flights of my friends and recognize them for it. Maybe that should be a resolution for the new year. Maybe that should be the way I see my way through the funk I have found myself in lately.