i found a beautiful cockatiel this evening in my front yard. obviously lost and scared, it flew right onto my shoulder and made itself a home. it was such an odd experience, to find this bird in the dark, chirping, out of place, and lost. he liked me and i certainly thought he was a cutie, with all of his chatter and squawking. somewhere someone is missing their cockatiel, wondering how in the world it escaped. hopefully tomorrow we’ll find it’s family so it can be home again.
tonite my heart is heavy as it aches for a friend who is in the depths of a life changing struggle. aches for their journey out of sorrow and into joy. aches because i have no idea what to say and everything that comes to mind seems so small in comparison with the love in my heart. and though i have known real pain in my own life, i have no idea of their pain, their hurt, their battle. no idea how to help. nothing concrete i can do. nothing i can easily fix. my hope is that they discover, through their own journey, their joy again. the joy that we all feel radiating out of the depths and corners of their heart. and like my little lost bird friend, my hope would be that they find their way back home.
i agree with laini – it is the being there that matters. you don’t have to have the right words, you just have to listen, and listen again. even if it means listening to silence sometimes. i think what we all want during times of struggle is to have someone say “i am sorry you are going through this. it is simply the worst. i am here for you.” at least, in my times of struggle, that is all i wanted to hear.
and this little bird! how incredible…especially because little birds sometimes appear in your art. what an amazing moment. i hope you find its parents…
Kelly, hope you find the bird’s parents! And that your friend is okay. At the author talk I went to last night, Christopher Moore – a humor writer – surprised us by talking a lot about death and dealing with the really uncomfortable situations that come up dealing with bad news and hard times, and how some people just disappear rather than deal and be real friends. I’m not sure what your friend is going through, but I think C.M. was right in saying that being there was the most important, and that sometimes all you can say is “I’m sorry” and know that it’s not enough, that everybody knows it’s not enough, but that there’s really not much more that you can say. (He also added that if you’re going to say, “Is there anything I can do?” you have to be ready for anything, even painting the house!)
kelly that bird is a sign – those things are rare. it must have felt your loving spirit. lovely.
Beautiful post and I too hope for the same things.
a.
Sending positive vibes your way…its so hard to see a friend hurting, isn’t it? She’s lucky to have you.