Happy 2014: The Bird Who Flew Still

Still Flying

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Late this year, I wound up at an observation area at the local airport. There, I watched a bird that, either flapping madly or holding still, moved no more than a foot in any direction; it simply floated there, on some invisible wind, like it was held in place by strings. I began to wonder—do birds play games or take enjoyment from things like that? I suspect that I would (anyone who’s ever played in an eddy in a creek or river probably knows this feeling), and I could not shake the inclination that this bird was doing that: playing in a current of air, invisible to the rest of the world.

I talk about flying a lot. It’s easy to harp on this, in my position. This last year has been the world showing me time and time again how blessed I truly am. I recognize that not everyone out there has a safety net. It’s rough out there, and sources like the news continues to remind us that there is no shortage of strife and difficulty to be had. Times are tough. But what matters is that you’re still here. You’re still flying. While that might not be much, that’s still something.

So, let’s play.

This is an exciting new year: we begin on a new moon. So tonight, feel free to get a little mischievous—the eye of Luna is closed! But when the dust settles and we all awake to the new day, the new year and the new moon, we’ll pick up where we left off and take back to the skies. So, for the year of 2014…

May you make a new friend.
May you get a grand view of the stars.
May you be a person worth loving, and may you love yourself.
May you smile at a challenge.
May you go on a grand adventure—someplace you’ve never been before!
May you choose to run somewhere, for the love of the wind.
May you change the world for the better, if only a tiny part of it.
May you be better prepared for the cold.
May you better enjoy the warm.
May you share a deep secret.
May your light brighten the world.

And when the winds are roughest, and for all your flapping you see not the world’s turning,

May you dance, such that those who watch you think you playing.

Happy 2014. Let’s begin it soaring, and move on from there.

~K.

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Photo: Mike Baird/Flickr