What do the Birds in our neighbourhood teach us?
by Ellen Grootoonk — translation into English by Greg Suffanti
On the Meeting Day 2021 Ellen Grootoonk introduced the theme Wisdom of the Birds to the QFWF by means of her Shamanistic Drums
Shamanic journey at the QFWF Meeting Day 2021
I am curious what the birds can teach us.
To discover that, I tuned in to the birds I regularly see.
The titmouse and the jackdaw.
I live in Amersfoort in a densely populated area. The highway noise is close, there is a lot of traffic.
We often think that we should go out in the wild and explore nature. But if you look closely, you will see that nature is everywhere.
In the last week of February which was so hot, I sat in my garden and saw the titmouse on the tasks.
So different from the titmouse is the jackdaw. You can often see them in the fall. In a large swarm above the city park. They form beautiful patterns and all land in the trees.
First listen to the sound clip. And then, if you like, read my text
Listen to the Titmouse:
Titmouse in the Garden
They sit on the bare branches, they whistle.
And hey, I see them flying all the way up to the gutter.
They build a nest there. I didn’t know you could build a nest that high.
The titmouse are so light, so delicate.
They do suffer from air pollution.
It feels so stuffy when I tune in to them.
They live on.
They make themselves heard, they whistle and chirp and fly back and forth to build their nests.
The titmouse…
They are not so easy to notice and yet have a large range. They are resourceful in finding a safe place for the nest.
They teach us that you can make yourself heard, no matter how small you are.
And that there is always a place to be found for a nest, even where you don’t expect it
