Slow down. Find Joy. Be Brave.
I have, for as long as I can remember, been deeply drawn to everything in nature. The water, the grass, and every tiny living creature and animal–especially those on the farm. It was a perk of my childhood being surrounded by them. One in particular that has long drawn my attention is the hummingbird.
The smallest of birds, with the biggest of bravery. Though they have the smallest heart, one could really say it’s the biggest–beating 600 beats per minute at rest and taking up most of its body. What a thing to work so hard to stay alive, when constantly on the verge of death. Yet, the hummingbird as a spirit animal represents joy and beauty. I think often that it must take bravery and heart to get to the end of a day having survived, and still be hummering about with joy.
“So much held in a heart in a lifetime. So much held in a heart in a day, an hour, a moment.” It’s one of my favorite quotes, found in an essay by Brain Doyle. It’s true really, all of us with our one brave beating heart; learning to live in community, love wildly, and walk boldly.
Maybe that’s it really–maybe hummingbirds have always reminded me to live my one brave life with such joy. Maybe it’s also the juxtaposition of the fact that they remind me that to enjoy their beauty I have to slow down and be still, while to stay alive they can’t slow down. Whatever it is, there is a magical quality to them that can teach us all something if we let them.
The bravery they teach us, it looks different to each and every brave beating heart. For me, bravery looks like a solo road trip or finding the courage to speak up in that one meeting where I may not feel my voice is being heard. For you, it may just be finding the courage to get out of bed another day and keep going. Maybe it’s the college student about to pick up and move to a new location away from family and friends when the summer ends. Or, it could be that you are having to make that one hard decision and step out in brave faith. Bravery–it really is so many things.
-McKenzie
But, one thing I know I have learned is just like the fragile heart of a hummingbird, there are healing hands who hold your fragile heart; and that truth is all that we need to be reminded to slow down, find joy, and be brave.
