Cages and Dreams

How many of us leave our cages and go for our dreams? Have you got a desire to do something that warms your heart? Have you dropped a dream because something was hard or didn't work out? Challenges accompany us to make our life interesting, and you may be facing changes. Whether it be assisting a volunteer organization, cleaning out the clutter in your closets or storage, or taking out that abandoned project and taking steps to complete it – it's almost 2009… time to start, is it not?

As you may remember from our June newsletter, Betty, my mother, had a cockatiel named Sunny who one day took to the sky. Betty felt saddened, but then comforted by my brother's perspective of the bird's one opportunity to go for the highest goal a caged bird can ever reach – the sky!

My mother told me that she wasn't going to get another cockatiel after Sunny. Although she loved having a bird singing and talking with her, she was giving up. She still had the little canary that never sang, which she inherited from her sister several years before. It was just as well that she just leave it at that – right?
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Betty likes to go to shopping malls, and pet stores are lures, especially when the cheerful little sounds call out for attention and friendship. So, a few weeks later when she went shopping, there were some new baby cockatiels that grabbed my mother's attention as she passed by the store. She said she was just looking, but you know how love at first sight is! Betty fell in love, and several days later brought "Sparky" home. Sparky was born on July 4th, and my mother began training him. She was delighted at how fast this little baby bird picked up new songs and phrases. Before you knew it, this bird was having long wonderful conversations and singing along with Betty.

One afternoon Betty got a call from a woman who asked her if she was missing a cockatiel. The woman said a cockatiel had landed on her shoulder when she was outside, and when she called the police station to ask what to do, an officer suggested to talk to Betty. My mother was stunned. Was this her bird?

When we hear of opportunity or possibility, all kinds of lights go off. What if? Our hearts beat a little faster, our pupils dilate, and our body releases hormones and chemicals that prepare us for action! Betty invited the woman to bring the bird over. Excited, but still holding back in case it wasn't her lost bird, she looked to find another cage in the attic. What would Sunny think of new little Sparky? Oh, maybe she'd need a new, bigger cage. Was he her bird? She was filled with questions.

A car approached the house, and a woman came to Betty's door carrying a brown bag – it was all she had to contain a bird. My mother welcomed her in the house, and anxiously awaited the possible reunion. Alas, it was not her bird. The woman didn't have accommodations for birds, so she left it with Betty. As it turned out, this was a quiet bird, and it didn't talk, nor did it whistle or sing. So, she now found herself with two birds that didn't sing – the canary and now this new cockatiel. She put out some notices to try and find the owner and responded to some e-mails, but this new bird looked like it would be here to stay. My mother started thinking about names.

Did you ever hear the phrase, "things come in threes?" Well, it was going to be like that for Betty this season. On her way out, she was just up at the top of the street where she lived and "BAM!" her car was hit and she found herself sailing through some bushes, across a lawn, and stopped just before hitting a tree. Shook up, she waited for the police to come and make a report and worried about the outcome of the accident. Going back home she found herself sitting in her kitchen surrounded by her birds.

Have you ever been in an accident? Do you know the feeling of time slowing down and the sensation of reviewing what just happened over and over and over? Did you ever try to do something and fail, so you decide not to try again?

Sometimes we get hit sideways in a conversation and spin out of control for a moment, left feeling confused or stunned. Feelings are tricky things and how we feel and how another person feels at the same time can be tricky. We mind read how another person is feeling when conversations collide. Yet… someone knew what was needed this day.

Soon the insurance company called and told her the car was totaled. She'd only had it a couple of years, and now it was gone. This was the first new car she ever bought by herself – a big leap in action at her age. As Betty sat in her kitchen, surrounded by her birds, thinking about this accident, her perfect driving record for 50 years, insurance, her car, she felt lower and lower. Suddenly, she was startled to hear a sound she'd never heard before! The canary sang! Turning to look at the bird, she just listened. This little canary who had never sung for her sister and never sang here burst into song!

Now, I can't say why this happened, because Betty has tried to figure it out and has no idea. What happened afterward, however, was wonderful! Betty's heart was so lifted that she got busy again in her activities. She filled out the accident paperwork and the company wrote her a check to purchase a new car, one that she said she feels even safer in. A couple weeks later at the court date on the accident, her ticket was dismissed. Now active as ever, her spirits are flying high, and she's out contributing to her community again. The canary? It still sings.

If you've been disappointed by some event, conversation, or anything, let go of it along with 2008! We have an opportunity for a fresh start with a new year. Take your time, make a list of what you want and if you need some coaching to get you started, come on in and we'll make your song together! I'll hold a space in my calendar for you!