Magpie, Rescuer and Hope

Around 8:30 this morning, the usual silence of my neighborhood was pierced by the loud calls of ravens, for whom it is also home. The harsh sounds lasted for a few minutes, after which they were replaced by the calls of other agitated birds. I was meditating at the time, about two thirds of the way through my practices. I didn’t pay much heed, because these things happen once in a while. We live quite close to some woods near Zurich, and our little garden visited by all kinds of birds (not to mention several cats and the occasional fox), so we're used to all kinds of sounds including ones of occasional conflict like this.

When I finished, about 10 minutes later, I felt that I should do a quick recce of the garden, just to see if anything was amiss. I didn’t really expect to find anything; but as you can I imagine… I did!

I spotted it through the windows that open into our garden. A gorgeous Eurasian Magpie ("Elster" in German) sitting motionless in the woodchips that we recently had strewn over the ground. Definitely not usual behavior for this bird! The moment I opened the window, it thrashed frantically and hopped into the tall hedges at the back, leaving only its tail feathers in sight. I could tell that a wing was damaged - and I guessed it might have been due to an altercation with the ravens that I heard earlier.

I couldn't take any chances because our garden is visited by several cats from the neighborhood; I couldn't bear the thought of them making a meal out of the poor, wounded creature. So, I called a neighbour and asked for the number of a bird rescuer. My neighbour connected me to one and also helped me to communicate with him in German; he said he'd be there in 30 mins. So, for the next 30 min, I parked myself in the garden, a stick in hand, waiting to deter any cats that sauntered in! It was not exactly fun doing this in 5 degrees Centigrade but it had to be done. Sadly, no cats appeared so I can't boast of shooing them away!

The rescuer arrived right on time, thankfully... but that's when the fun started! The instant he took a step in its direction, the frightened creature thrashed about madly again and then hopped right through the hedge into our next-door-neighbour's property. We went around to their garden and located it after several minutes of poking through the hedges, only to have it dart across the garden into the next neighbor's space! The rescuer, a senior gentleman, easily in his sixties, was quite red in the face with exertion but refused to give up. His bird-catching-net in hand, he repeated his attempts over the gardens of two more neighbors, until he finally caught it a good 30 minutes later. He was gentleness itself, when he took it out of the net and put it safely into a cardboard box (with holes punched into it) that held some food and also a cloth it could take some warmth from. We beamed happily as we said goodbye and I felt certain that it will be looked after well.

Why am I telling you all this? It's because the 60-75 minutes of excitement made me think…

In the days ahead, sometimes we might be like the magpie - vulnerable and afraid. Our fear might make us flinch and flee even from helping hands. My hope is that we will find it within ourselves to recognize people that genuinely wish to help us and allow ourselves to be helped when we need it.

Sometimes, we might be like the magpie… and that's when we should ask for help but also have the grace to be helped.

Sometimes we will be like the rescuer; able and willing to help but more importantly, unwilling to give up, even when the bird led him a merry dance over 4 properties. I hope when we find ourselves in a position to help, we won't give up if we encounter fear, doubt or distrust in those we wish to help. We may have to wait and give them some time to trust us , and that's OK. it's being there for them that matters. So, sometimes we will spot an 'injured magpie' - and that's exactly when we should reach out to help. Hopefully, we find it within ourselves to not give up on them.

If you've read my rambling this far, I wish you a joyful and fulfilling New Year. May you always receive the support you need and may you always have the strength to pay it forward too!

Happy New Year!