5 lessons of life learnt from a Pigeon…!
One day we observed that there was an increased movement of Pigeon in our balcony. On closer observation, we found out that there was a nest being constructed on the pipelines near ceiling of the balcony. We were not in favor of pigeons making their abode in our home due to the cleaning issues and the smell associated with it. So, we decided to get the nest removed before the pigeons start actually living there.
However, it was 2 – 3 days by the time we called our watchman to remove the nest from balcony. The watchmen are adept at doing all such odd jobs without any inhibitions or qualms. He stood on a plastic chair, stepped up on the balcony wall holding the grill and reached the nest. He just removed the nest comprising of a neatly woven dry grass, leaves and wooden sticks. As he removed it we had a closer look at the nest and… were shocked to observe that it had two small eggs in it. So, the pigeons had been preparing a home for welcoming new arrivals in their family and had actually zeroed in, in our balcony for this auspicious occasion in their family.
Once the nest had been taken off, there was no question of trying to put it back, as it cannot fit in same place again. It had been constructed bit by bit by taking support of the pipe and wall. Once it is removed from the spot, it won’t really fit there. Moreover, we had requested the watchman to remove it all along, so just because there were two small eggs in it, we did not want to change our opinion. The watchman filled up the space with a plastic sheet to restrict the pigeons from constructing a new nest in same place.
However, we were not happy. The feeling started coming again and again in our minds that we were not being right in removing the nest. The mother pigeon was taking care of her unborn kids. The two lives were being formed in that nest. And in one stroke, just for our comfort, we destroyed their world. What right did we have to spoil someone’s happiness like this? We are vegetarians and so eggs are not something which we eat or bring home from market. Otherwise, the intensity of feeling would have been much reduced, or probably not there at all, since in process of our culinary desires, we would have broken several eggs.
We saw the mother pigeon come to balcony just few minutes after the watchman had left after doing this simple job of removing the nest. The mother pigeon was shocked to see the nest disappear and instead a plastic sheet in that place. The emotions do not clearly appear on pigeon’s faces otherwise we would have seen absolute shock, anxiety and anger on her face. Nevertheless, her movements reflected her feelings very well. She was moving continuously from the balcony grills to the spot where nest was, then unable to rest there due to lack of support, she was again flying to the grills. This happened repeatedly for next few minutes. We were very sorry for the pigeon.
We came inside the house and diverted our minds in other subjects like TV, newspapers etc. After some time, we went again to the balcony and saw that the pigeon had disappeared. The pigeon had seen us all along standing in the balcony and must have figured out that we were responsible for the calamity happened to her. Yet, she did not try to harm us in any whatsoever manner. She forgave us. I am sure, if any human being’s children were harmed by a pigeon, he would have definitely taken revenge on the pigeons. This was the lesson number one learnt by us from the pigeon. Forgive and forget others. In life there are several moments when we hold grudge against others. But it does not help the person in any manner. Instead he burns himself in the process. Nobility lies in not just forgiving but forgetting others for their mistakes.
We were relieved that the pigeon’s intensity of sadness had reduced. Surprisingly in afternoon, we saw the pigeon with a dry stick in her beak sitting on the balcony grills and looking for a right place to build a nest. So, the pigeon had accepted the misfortune befallen on her and had commenced the search for a new place for nest with a new enthusiasm. How quickly the pigeon had recovered from her grief? This was the lesson number two from pigeons. Many times in life we suffer calamities or adversities. But it will not solve the problem if we just sit down and brood over it again and again. At some point or other, we need to leave the past behind and make a new start. The earlier we start, the earlier we stand a chance to recover from the situation.
We also observed that the pigeon was now not just focusing on same spot, but was looking at new places as well. It was going in our neighbor’s balcony, our opposite house’s terrace, the tree near our house etc. So, it was keeping its all options open. Lesson number three. When we face a road block in our lives, don’t just look at the dead end. Explore other avenues to move forward. There ought to be new ways to proceed forward in every situation, one just need to explore them.
What also surprised us was the fact that the pigeon did not wait for the last minute when it was about to lay eggs next time, to look for a good place to build the nest. It took just few hours to arrive at the conclusion and start the process to build a new nest.Lesson number four. One should not wait for the need to become an urgency to act on the matter. If we act in advance with proper planning, we are bound to get good results. It is wrong for anyone to wait for the last minute to make a move in the desired direction, as many favorable options would have been closed by then. One is left with very few choices to make a decision in such a situation.
And lastly, the most important lesson learnt was that one should not lose enthusiasm while doing anything. The pigeon was appearing very active while searching for the new accommodation. It did not carry the sad feeling anymore. Any work which is not done with enthusiasm will not yield positive results. It is better not to do a work, rather than doing it without enthusiasm. Half hearted efforts always yield average results. For getting best results, the efforts also need to be great.
A pigeon had become our Guru teaching some important lesson of life to us…!
Regards
Revathi
CAclubindia
