Interesting Experience Today and a good reminder

This morning I opened our shop (late) and welcomed the humans into our shop. My husband has a little box of bird food by our front door and encourages kids to throw a handful of the seeds out into our court yard for the Sparrows who also have tiny birdhouses to live in. It's a lovely little environment for them.

But all too often, a bird will fly into the shop. We have many windows including one that is floor to ceiling at one end of our store. And today, while the shop was quiet, I saw a bird fly past me and into one of the windows. He then turned and headed straight for the large windows thinking this must be an escape.

I grabbed a towel and approached the frightened little bird. I found myself saying as he repeatedly attempted to fly away, while crashing his little body against the window "Stop hurting yourself!" I eventually was successful in getting the towel over him and reassured him that soon he'd be flying free with his friends outside.

Thinking on this later, I realized how much the little Sparrow's experience is not unlike ours with TMS. We continue to "smash into the window" seeing the freedom (from pain) just on the other side of the glass. We "get" that this is where we want to be - yet sometimes we too need to have a towel thrown over our heads long enough to stop the anxiety, stop the fear, and more importantly, stop hurting ourselves by doing the same things over and over again.

I must admit that I envied the little bird as he flew to freedom. I am in between the glass and the great outdoors right now - in a metaphorical sense. I am waiting for the towel to be thrown over my head so that I too can be quiet long enough to be in a position to fly to freedom - of pain.

And waiting for the day - I stop hurting myself by hurling myself against a pane of glass that is not the right way out.

BG

 

That was a beutiful and thoughtful story, thank you for sharing! That towel over the head sounds so calming..

 

I agree with Linnea. I read this earlier this morning and thought it was such a great metaphor.

 

This story affected me because we live in the mountains in the country and lots of birds fly around our house and just a few days ago I heard a big thud against my upper window and found a cute little bird dead on my deck. At the time I was thinking what we think is clear to be seen sometimes is not.

 

Yes. The glass is a metaphor for our unconscious mind, right? We don't see it, we don't know what's in there, but there's something there that prevents us from getting to where we want to be... free of pain.