Spiritual Lessons in Small Packages

I’ve spent the past week or so taking care of baby ducks – it has been both an eye opener and a challenge. Trying to perceive their needs, to tune in with them and to keep pace with their growth is really something else….

Sort of other-worldly in fact.

Today in particular I have been sensing these other dimensions quite a bit and not only around the ducks. There is an aura around some animals that isn’t quite earth bound – yet it is very grounded in some other ways.

It’s as if there are animals who are here on the planet to do great things. Just in the same way some humans have missions, purposes and destinies that will take them on amazing journeys throughout their lives.

But….back to these little ducks. Each one as they hatched were quite different in the way they took to getting their feet on the ground so to speak. The first one was moving around immediately and was very lively whereas the second and third ones were very laid back and took awhile to adjust.

The second duckling also had splayed legs as if his hips were out of joint, which sometimes happens in fowl. In nature they often don’t make it and in a commercial barnyard they are culled. Yet, this is a simple thing to mend….

In fact, after checking around we decided to use sticking plasters with cotton padding as a sort of splint to keep his legs together at the normal width for a few hours - to see if this would help support him better.

It worked and he got the bandages off himself once he was able to walk around normally (have I mentioned yet that I am in complete awe of nature?).

Then there is the last little one of this particular clutch of eggs….he/she doesn’t even look like the rest, doesn’t sound like them and of course is doing everything his own way (and on his own time! LOL). This one we’ve had to remind to eat/drink as well as to protect him from the bigger ones.

 So…..what’s this got to do with anything you might be thinking? Well, I should back up here. I ended up with these 4 eggs because I took them away from my mother duck after some had hatched and been killed by the other birds.

Barnyard life can be cruel for the youngest ones – especially anyone without the protection of a strong group. The geese have their babies and do just fine because the gander steps in and protects everyone, even sitting on the nest when needed.

Ducks tend to be a little different. So, I put these eggs in an incubator for what we guessed was the remaining time until hatching and we hoped for the best. But, just hoping was only half the story – I did my research and proceeded to do everything in my power to ensure these eggs hatched out.

And they did. Now – in phase 2, I am doing everything in my power to ensure these little ducklings survive (so far, so good) including sitting with them, talking to them, walking with them, making their food and bringing them things I think they might like (such as grass, bugs and worms….Yumm!).

The story only gets really interesting when I mention that the entire family take it in turns to care for these animals. Including setting the alarm clock every 2 hours during the nights they were hatching (the incubator can dry out quickly) to keep them hydrated.

In lots of ways I thought that all the fasting I have done over these years taught me discipline, commitment and fostered a fierce level of determination. But, right now I am seeing these (spiritual lessons) and more taken to a whole new level.

Learning to care for these baby ducks, allowing them to communicate their needs to me as well as trusting in the incredible power of life has seen me let other things (what’s really important anymore?) take a back seat.

The will to survive….The power of life…..This force is inside of each of us and it is like nothing else in the Universe. It is worth protecting.

April

1st baby duck hatching from it's shell