So, on Saturday early evening, this feathered fellow flew into my neighbourhood.
When I first spotted it, it was sitting on a roof a bit further away, and I was like “what on earth is that?!” I routinely get the common garden birds in and around my garden. I’ve even seen one or two sparrow hawks in the past.
But never one of these!
I was a bit startled, surprised, tried to make sense of what I was seeing: is it a big seagull? No, too big. Is it a goose? No, too long and skinny.
Then it took off and started flying towards my house. It had an impressive wing span so initially I was a bit ‘aaarrrggghhh’ but then I noticed it looked so sleek and graceful, and I was somewhat elated to have this new visitor so close.
It landed on my neighbour’s fence, at which point I could get a better look. I could see it was grey, tall, thin, a long neck and long beak. Really rather beautiful. Ahh, a grey heron, I thought. (Bird lovers – correct me if I’m wrong!)
I was pleased it paused there long enough for me to admire it. And take a couple of photos.
And then, suddenly, it was gone.
As a result of its visit, it’s got me thinking about how we may react when we’re faced with the unexpected. Needless to say, it will differ from person to person, and depends on the situation and our built-in coping mechanisms.
It’s important when experiencing the unexpected that we notice our reaction, our feelings, acknowledge them, leverage them, assess the situation, gather some info and then adapt and choose our response as needed.
Applying this to a heron’s unexpected garden visit is simple enough, but when it’s a big life event, or a big work thing, that blindsides you and you feel shocked and unprepared, maybe even overwhelmed, confused or fearful, it does help to have a strategy to support your reaction and your response.
Practicing it on the little things helps us to prepare for the bigger things.
Because the bigger things are more a matter of when, not if. Especially these days when we live in such a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.
Get in touch if you’re wanting to better prepare yourself for living and leading in an unpredictable world.
