The Hummingbird

Looking out my window. It’s Saturday morning. But, there’s so much to do. Inside, outside. At home, at work. I was almost in a trance, overwhelmed by my list of obligations.

Out of nowhere a hummingbird zoomed into sight. It hovered near our back porch as if it were peeking into our window.

I’ve always loved hummingbirds. My grandfather had a hummingbird feeder when I was growing up. I could watch them for hours when I would visit. Their speed fascinated me. Their wings flapping at a 1,000 miles per hour. I was in awe of how something so fast could just hover in air. So much effortless activity.

Today’s hummingbird hovered around my back porch for a few seconds. It raced to a nearby tree. Finally, it scurried off out of site. The little guy was only around for maybe 7 seconds.

But, those few seconds snapped me out of my trance. I stopped thinking of ALL the things I needed to do. Instead I thought of my grandfather. Of my childhood. Of simpler times. I thought of how I wish I could sit on his porch again to chat about everything and nothing like we always did.

Yesterday was a busy day. This week, month, heck, even this whole year has been a blur. At work. At home. Truthfully, I’ve been a bit overwhelmed.

The hummingbird this morning was a reminder of how important it is to slow down at times. Even when moving quickly, sometimes you need to take a moment to pause. To be in the moment. To take a breath and reflect.

It was a reminder that furious activity doesn’t have to be out of control. I’m not going to “slow down.” That’s just not how I’m wired. I want to do all the things. And I want to be great at the work that I do.

But, today I remembered that there can be control and there can be grace even within the chaos.

Now, off to amazon to see how much a hummingbird feeder costs.