I watched a heron fish this morning. He stood at the end of a sand bar, a misplaced lawn ornament in his stillness, colors so perfectly matched to the water that his shadow all but disappeared into the ripples rolling past his reed-like legs.
He watched the water directly in front of him, single focus made manifest. Lowering himself toward the water, he changed shape almost imperceptibly, his movements lighter than the morning breeze. Finally, finally, he struck, a movement so concise and precise I might have imagined it except for the fish struggling in his slender gullet.
I'll bet that heron doesn't obsess about anything. He does not fret about having enough. He does not worry about his 401K or how he'll ever retire.
Nope. He exercises the gifts given him. Patience, focus, being in the moment, flexibility and great reflexes feed that bird. Oh, and grace. Lots and lots of grace.
7 comments:
What a perfectly beautiful post.
I know I could stand to learn a lesson or two from that heron.
:)
I would settle on having grace. I can imagine that was a beautiful sight to see.
Poor fish! He was probably fretting, but only for a second.
I do love the herons, though - they have such a distinctive silhouette as they fly through the air and they are truly majestic.
Sometimes you're the heron. Sometimes you're the fish.
He is what he is and that's abundantly enough. Good lesson to heed. Thank you for the great picture of one of my favorite birds.
I saw a heron last Sunday. It was the first time I went canoing in 2 years. How their majesty fills the soul with lessons in grace and mythical beauty. Beautiful post.
Oh, I bet they don't fret about the 5 pounds they've put on in the past five years either! Wish I was a heron.
If only we could all be content with our God given gifts and obsess about nothing. Beautiful images. I love the way you paint with words.
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