A hawk that flew into a powerline while getting some breakfast.
The hawk's breakfast with the hawk's claw still embedded in it.
This morning, when I went to pick my daughter up from a week-long summer camp, my sister and I discovered this gruesome sight in the church parking lot. At first, we couldn't figure out what had happened to the bird. Our suprise at finding a deceased hawk in town matched our consternation about its mangled state. Then we noticed less than a foot and a half away, the smaller dead bird with the hawk claw embedded in it. That's when my brilliant sister, who loves watching CSI, figured out the mystery. The hawk must have spotted its prey on a telephone wire, swooped down to snatch it up, and hit a live wire immediately after grabbing the bird. That explained why the hawk's face had been burned away completely and why the smaller bird looked as if it had been cooked as well.
At first I felt badly for the two birds, to end in such an electrifying manner, but then I continued to think about the situation. I looked at the center of the issue and came to the realization that in fact, this type of death was not so terrible after all. This hawk, a majestic, high-flying raptor died doing what it did best, coming down quickly from incredible heights and grabbing its prey. Unfortunately, this time it didn't end with him swooping back into the blue, but with him dead upon the ground. Nonetheless, it died after making a decision to get what it wanted and he pursued his goal to the end. Us humans should be so lucky.
Many people get stuck into ruts in which they begin to drift lazily around their own lives. Instead of making decisive and determined choices about where they want their lives to go, they let life make decisions for them. Sometimes the choices life makes are serendipitous and lucky, but more often than not, the lack of action on the part of individuals leads a person's life into discontent and lack of fulfillment.
Being goal-oriented and motivated to positive action requires a person to make committments to identifying what it is they want from life. It also demands that a person take action to achieve those goals and then follow through until he/she has met his/her objectives. The work can be difficult, time-consuming, and draining, but the effort is worth it. Someone once told me that everything in life worth having is worth working hard for. I truly believe that. I also believe that to have a fulfilling life a person must make those decisions that are necessary to achieve that kind of life. The world does not hand out wonderful lives capriciously. People create their own fantastic lives by paying attention to what they want and what they do,by fostering those things that make life worthwhile, and by finding what it takes to reach the right level of inner satisfaction.
With all decisive action comes some inherent risk. The risk for failure accompanies every decision to step outside one's comfort zone and to do those things that are essential for the creation of a happy life. It is the fear of failure which holds so many people back from embracing what they need to do. Living life to its full potential, however, brings rewards that outweigh those risks. Sometimes a person will die (figuratively and literally) in his/her attempts to achieve their goals, but at least he/she, much like the hawk, will die will fully living.
While creepily interesting from a scientific perspective, the dead birds this morning were more fascinating for me from a philosophical standpoint. I am going to engage in some introspection and think about what I want for my life and what I need to do to effect positive change. Life is a journey towards fulfillment and self-knowledge, and I am determined that I am going to choose how I am going to reach my goals. Hopefully, I will be like the hawk, and when my time comes to pass into the next realm, I will be thoroughly living when I die.
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