Did you know that an adult Hummingbird’s size is almost equivalent to a leaf on a Crepe Myrtle tree?  It’s that time of the year again when our back porch becomes the Hummingbird depot for various flocks and varieties of Hummers sporting ruby throats, emerald green bodies and spots of black and white.  If you’re not familiar with Hummingbirds, don’t let the docile paintings that you see in various arts and crafts stores fool you–these are feisty mammer jammers and they mean business! 

What’s the point of me talking about Hummingbirds? That I’ve managed to carve out a space in my life to sit still long enough to notice that they are the size of the Crepe Myrtle leaf and to watch their behavior as they dart back and forth from one feeder to the next.  For those of us who are creative, giving ourselves something completely different to focus on is such a good thing for our minds.  Besides, these guys are hilarious too!  They talk back and forth in these little buzzing bird chirps that I swear you can almost make out bird cursing if you listen close enough. I just love them. 

Even if you live in the middle of a big bustling city, you can go someplace and give yourself some time to just chill out and notice what’s going on.  Become curious about the “human animal” behavior. If you can only sit there and watch people as they are walking to and fro, it’s a great way for you to let go of your thoughts and let your mind out to play.  What do you notice that is similar about everyone? What is different?  How do people that wear red behave as opposed to people who wear black or white? 

If you live where you can get out in the countryside, then consider yourself blessed. There is so much to observe out there.  One time I was sitting on our back porch talking with my mom on one of our marathon calls. As I looked out at the field to the side of our house, I noticed a disturbance in the grass and it definitely wasn’t a bunny or a squirrel! I kept looking only to discover a huge tortoise that was bigger than an army helmet lumbering across our lawn! I know for sure that I would have missed this guy if I hadn’t been sitting as long as I had staring in the same direction. 

Become curious about the world around you.  Give yourself a mini-retreat and let your mind flow into a completely different direction then the work that is staring you in your face, for just ten or twenty minutes and then return to the work at hand. Bet you find some renewed energy that you were not expecting. 

Listen for the Hummingbird wings of life.