Thoughts for a Hot, Muggy Tuesday

Cut not the wings of your dreams,

for they are the heartbeat and the freedom of your soul. 

--Flavia--

I realized last night that the graduation came and went on Friday night and I hadn't even mentioned here how well it went.  The ceremony itself was so special, and the food was fantastic...Popeye's chicken, barbecued beef, potato salad, cole slaw, tossed salad, biscuits, and cake.  I did blow my diet some, but who can blame me?  I love Popeye's and potato salad?  It's always been one of my favorite foods, but I never make it at home because I am the only one who eats it.  I only had to give three speeches and one graduate had to work overtime and the other did not show up.  My lone female graduate began to cry as she gave her little speech, and, of course, emotional sponge that I am, tears began flowing freely from my eyes.   But, they were happy tears.

Meanwhile, as you all know, I've not only been watching the exploits of the Decorah eaglets, a baby hummingbird from the day it hatched.  From the day that he hatched, I have been watching Scout, the little hummingbird.  I've watched him grow from the size of a raisin.  Then, from the 19th on we were on a fledge watch.  I kept the window open and checked on and off during the day. The little critter sure did put me through the wringer as I watched on pins and needles waiting for those little wings to carry him off.  Then, the time came for me to go upstairs for the graduation.

Scout was lying peaceful in his nest, eyes drooping after a busy afternoon of rimming.  I won't miss anything.  Surely, he was set for a few hours...or at least that is what I thought.  When the party was over and I came downstairs, and guess what?  The nest was empty.  Little Scout had taken the opportunity to graduate from the nest.  He had taken the next step of growth.

It had been obvious all afternoon that Scout wanted to fly off so badly, but was afraid.  You could see by the way he clung to the rim of the nest, but he continued to work at his fears until he got up the courage to face them. The same holds true for my graduates.  The program is a safety net for them, and it is hard for them to let go and move to another stage of their life, of staying clean and sober without depending on the program.   Some are so afraid of cutting the cord that they will actually relapse so they don't have to go.


Having fear is a part of our life. We all feel it at different points of our lives.  When I moved from my small country home to the city, I was afraid.  I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to make it when I took that step 20 years ago to leave my abusive husband.  Changing careers and going back to school when I hit 50 were no easy tasks either, but I faced the fears that had been holding me back.

We all have fears... facing the unknown, facing new challenges, being alone. .Its when we don't face our fears that we get bogged down. We begin to stagnate; we don't move forward.  In fact, we don't move any place.  We just are.  We don't bloom and grow.  When we live in fear, we do not embrace life...and embracing life is what it is all about. 

"Come to the edge", he said.

They said, "We are afraid".

"Come to the edge", he said.

They came.

He pushed them ...

and they flew.

--Guillauame Apollinaire --