Morgan and I were binge watching a wonderful series last night on Amazon and in between episodes, as I went into the laundry room, I looked out the window and saw this wonderful hawk outside in the big old oak tree.
He was just checking out the neighborhood, I’m sure, looking for some take-away food.
Hawks are quite possibly my favorite bird . I know they are birds of prey and therefore not the most gentle of creatures but I love them on so many levels regardless.
I hope you like these pics and the little video I made out the laundry room window. He flew away right after these shots.
As I looked through his little visit this morning, I smiled. Whenever I am visited by a hawk, I always feel that my Dad has just visited me. Ever since he died, I always feel he is watching over me and that these hawk’s eyes become his in my life.
Which made me ponder this morning about the whole symbolism thing and why we search for it in our lives.
In many cases, I think it comes from a hole that appears in our lives and as we seek to fill it, symbolism provides us with a feeling of some kind of assurance.
We go through life very much alone in many ways. Despite family, friends, or religious persuasions, many of life’s challenges, pains, and pitfalls, are left for us to go through on our own.
Crutches that we can lean on along the way become very valuable and support our own inner strength to form the basis for our ability to make it through to the other side.
Symbolism often comes in afterwards to reinforce that we made the right decision, or battled through something of substance, or ultimately made the right call.
Loved ones often reaffirm that we did well, friends pat us on the back, or something of substance becomes our reward.
But in instances where the battle is only fought in our minds and hearts, and where there are no witnesses or rewards, we look for something else to provide the affirmation.
It can be the finding of a feather, the colors of the rising sun, or as in my case, the sudden appearance of a lone hawk outside my window.
But whatever it is, we shouldn’t dismiss it. We should embrace it and let it warm our soul and encourage our mind.
There is so much to life that we don’t know and will never know … maybe just the feeling of being watched over is more than enough to warm us against the loneliness of our journey.
Whether my Dad actually sees me or just haunts my soul with his love, is frankly irrelevant. Quite simply, it’s the feeling that truly counts.
Neville,
Again very nicely done – the pictures and sentiment.
The Italians (and who knows who else) believe that a Red Cardinal is a symbol of a deceased loved one paying a visit and will lift any sadness, and if needed, indicate that help is on the way.
It matters not whether this is true but as you say it’s what you believe that can warm the soul.
There are a lot of bird superstitions – this one I love; If a feather falls in front of you where no birds are present, the feather is a gift from your guardian angel.
Who knows?
Loved the video – a magnificent bird.
Thank you John … belief can be a strong influence on our lives. Truly.
But watch out for those Italians … they are a crazy bunch lol
I love Cardinals btw … I am feeding about five or six every evening here … they chirp when they see me come out with food and they begin to descend before I even have it put down for them.