The Hummingbird

I've neglected posting because I'm chewing on the concept of suffering (redemptive suffering to be more specific). What does that have to do with Hummingbirds? Absolutely nothing. However, another thought occurred to me while walking on campus the other day.

As I walked back to my office enjoying the morning sun and mild temperature, the feel of Fall, I found myself looking at a beautiful hummingbird a couple of feet away from me. I avoided getting too close; it avoided staying too close to me.

I saw the flutter of wings - the blur, really, since that's all you get to see while a hummingbird furiously flaps its wings to stay in one spot. It was focused on the flower at hand, its body completely still and belying the ongoing activity and motion required to keep it in place. It was beautiful, a busy little thing focused on what it needed to survive.

And then it hit me - that busy flap of wings, the blur of motion a stark contrast to the stillness of the body. The wings became a metaphor for life around us. The stillness of that little body became the metaphor for internal peace, so that we can keep focused on that which we need to survive.

We're so busy running from point A to point B on the way to Z, which needs to be done within the confines and the blur of each day, bombarded by emails, addicted to social media and our phones, stuck in traffic, juggling family, work, pets, laundry... do we have the ability to find that stillness in the midst of the chaos that often seems to overrun our lives?

How do we find that stillness? How do we strive to achieve that internal peace?

For me, it's daily work, hard work. Some days are better than others, but on those days when I fail, I look for the next day as a chance to try again. For me, it all rests in keeping God at the center of my life, because if I can do that, I can remember what He wants from me and hopefully discern what He wants for me. I can remember that I'm called to love and serve, ordering all my activities, thoughts and desires toward those goals.

And if we are focused on loving and serving, we are more likely to give others the benefit of the doubt, get less angry at their behaviors, seek to understand, seek to help, seek to be a light in a world that's shrouded in such darkness. It brings meaning to our lives, peace of mind, and joy.

How do you find that stillness?

(Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/people/ksblack99/)