Duck Says “Sink or Swim”

Often, in life, we are given situations where we must choose to either move forward and make a change, or where we choose to let life circumstances defeat us.

Several days ago, someone that I love dearly received chastising about a situation that he was involved in.  The chastisement seemed out of proportion to the seriousness of the situation.  It reminded me of the put downs that many of us received from our parents (fathers) in our early lives.  The tone of the chastisement was along the lines of “how can you be so stupid”, and “I am so much smarter than you”; put downs that we now all realize are about power and not about any constructive coaching or team building.

As I was thinking through the situation, and feeling thankful that I was no longer in that corporate situation, I saw the picture below, from Spirit, and realized that Duck had a comment for me. Duck is a spirit animal that brings many messages to humans, messages that are often ignored.

The comment was “sink or swim”!  From the moment that Duck is born, she must make her way through the grass down into the water.  She is not safe on the land from Fox, Hawk, Coyote, Snake, Racoon, Weasel, or even Cat or Dog.  When she gets in the water, she is not safe from Turtle, Fish, Eagle, or other predators.  Yet, she swims! She does not give up.  To escape those who would diminish her, she simply swims faster until the time comes when she can fly, and then she flies faster. 

Life, Duck says, is about getting on, and not getting down.  Life is about finding the flow, and staying in the current, and keeping moving.  The nature of things is about moving and change, and never giving up. Life is about loving one’s self enough to keep trying.  

And that, says Duck, is the meditation for today – sink or swim.

     Ducks from amolife.com 

Many blessings,

Judy

The Kindness of The Mallard Ducks

 

 Picture taken by Judy Hirst in our yard in May 2023

I wrote about our Mallard Ducks in a previous blog.  You can check it out by clicking on the link below.

https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/04/mallard-duck-visitors-spirit-animals.html

Today, I want to tell you a story about these ducks.  We call them Mama and Papa Duck.  They have been coming to our yard and our neighbourhood since 2021.  They show up about mid May and their last visit is usually early September.  Both ducks are very chill in our yard and they have an understanding with our dog so that he leaves them alone as they eat at the birdseed area.  They come about ten in the morning and about eight at night.  We can be out on the deck eating or reading, and they don’t care.  When they are not in our yard, they are at our neighbours’ places, doing the same thing.

One day, we observed the ducks fly into the yard in the morning, and, quite strangely, a third duck, a male mallard flew in with them.  Rather than going to eat right away as they normally do, the ducks walked the male mallard around the part of the yard that they hang out in and showed him different places they like to eat grass as well as the birdseed area.  The three of them munched together and then flew off.

Later that afternoon, the lone male mallard dropped into the yard.  He has been popping in about once a day, sometimes twice, and does not come when Mama and Papa Duck are here.  We realized that the Mallard couple were being kind to the lone male who seemed to be without a mate.  They brought him to their safe haven area where there was food and safety from coyotes or other predators.  The lone male eats with the doves and the blackbirds and seems quite content.  

I was impressed with the thoughtfulness and kindness of Mama and Papa Duck.  I am not aware of ducks showing this level of sympathy and empathy for another.  The compassion the couple showed was amazing.  Nature is often amazing.  I hope that very soon all humans show that much compassion for others.

Many blessings,

Judy