A Little Birdy Told Me
Image from the US Fish and Wildlife Service
Well, it is time to resurface for a bit of blogging air. Many, many thanks to Rose, Terry and Michael for guest blogging the past week. Michael, I love the nothing induction. Thanks for sharing!!!!
And it is late to be posting today, and for that I do apologize. I ended up on the road for a good part of the day and planning for tomorrow’s holiday. Crazy stuff!!!
I had a great trip and was able to spend some time with family members. I also tried something completely new, but hypnotic none-the-less. Birding. I went birding. Yes, I sat very still (freezing) on the edge of a forrest, blending in with the fall foliage. Perhaps a burning bush would have been better camouflage considering the red nose I developed.
When I first realized that this was an early morning fate of mine, I found myself a little resistive (and for no known reason). The whole idea of siting out in the field, collecting the morning dew on my hiking clothes with my aunt and her walker seemed very unglamorous compared to the pancake breakfast the rest of the family was having. But, my aunt, ever the Audubon gal, decided this would be just the thing for her niece who was reported to be a hiking fiend.
And as we sat there amongst the trees and the silence, the occasional random bird call, and the thermos of hot coffee, I began to get the flow of the morning. Why, this birding thing, it was quite a bit like meditation. One takes a pair of binoculars and begins not only to focus on the variations of color and sound, but focus the mind into a state of pure concentration. As I handed back the optics to my aunt, I watched her for a few moments. Sure enough she had lost track of time and place and was answering my chattering whispers with trance-like “um-hums.”
It then occurred to me to try an experiment with her. This particular aunt is ever one to moan about her aches and pains. I have often offered to work with her on pain management, but she is not too keen on my brand of hocus pocus (as she calls it). But here she was, already in her own sort of hypnotic state. What did I have to lose? Carefully, I continued whispering to her. She was definitely in another state of reality (I asked her if she would like chocolate syrup on her club sandwich at lunch, to which she replied “um-hum.”). Continuing on, I gave her a suggestion that when she returned home from bird watching, she would be pain free for the rest of the day. She seemed not to notice.
Finally, my cell phone range and it was my uncle calling to check on us. It was time to rejoin humanity. I would love to say that as I looked up, there was the elusive red-headed woodpecker (birders, I apologize, I really know not what I speak of). Alas, nothing. My aunt made a few quick notes in her log, handed me all of the gear (okay, the ATB binoculars are tres cool) and proceeded to position herself in her walker. Was there a ah-ha moment when she threw the walker away? Nope. She and I made our slow progress back.
I put away our gear, washed up and sat down at the table. No, my aunt did not ask for chocolate sauce for her club sandwich. Instead she was all bright and cheerful, telling everyone that we saw this bird, heard that bird, and what a great morning it was.
The rest of the day was peaceful. My aunt remained cheerful. Dinner came and went and before I knew it, I was falling asleep on the couch. It was not until I stood in my jammies, brushing my teeth, that I realized my aunt had not complained once about her pain since returning from our birding adventure.
The remaining days with her were also fairly pain free (or she did not bother reporting it if so). She wants to go birding with me again. Apparently I now need to get my own gear (who would have thought?). My uncle happily admitted that those “wonderful binoculars” I was impressed with were his hunting ones. My aunt had apparently absconded with them. He hinted that he would like a new pair of Nikon’s All Terrain Binoculars (Christmas will be here before we know it, don’t cha know). He even sent me an email on how to get Free ATB Pro Gear, ie. my own stuff, if I bought him the binoculars before December 31 (depending on the kind you buy, you can get a $25 or $50 gift card when you buy a pair of Nikon ATB binoculars).
That night, as I dozed off to sleep in the guest bedroom, book still open to the page I was reading, my aunt walked in and stood beside the bed. Fearing that another early morning of sitting in the cold woods was about to be proposed, I did the cowardly thing, I faked complete sleep.
“Ellie,” she whispered, “are you awake?” No response.
“Ellie, in the morning you will buy your uncle his own set of binoculars and you will feel wonderful.”
With that little suggestion, she crept of of the room.
October 31st, 2008 at 4:58 am
HA! Crafty aunt! ;^)
It was kind of you to submit to the morning freeze, Ellie. I’ll admit to being curious, though, as to whether you actually used the words “pain free” or whether you were paraphrasing. I’d have said something along the lines of, “And how surprised and delighted will you be to discover that all through the day your body moves comfortably and naturally, as it did when you were a young girl?”
Nice to have you back.
<MR>
October 31st, 2008 at 7:06 am
As a person who suffers from the pain of arthritis, I can empathize with your Aunt. Having a mental outlook of “no pain” is not without merit, though. I often find my pain is greater when my spirits are down for whatever reason. Having someone who so obviously cares about whether I am comfortable or not goes a long ways towards alleviating the intensity of the pain. I would say that whether your Aunt was in a true hypnotic state or not, she was receptive to your suggestion and it did help her deal with her pain.
I hope you enjoy your new binoculars. I’m equally sure your Uncle will enjoy his
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October 31st, 2008 at 7:11 am
@Michael - I was indeed paraphrasing - I aligned pain free with the time she hiked Mt. Washington (she felt it was one of her biggest accomplishments and she has spoken of transcending the aches and pains of that event into a feeling of escatasy, where there was no pain). Thanks for asking for more detail.
@Margaret - I really had not thought about helping her with the pain just through caring, but you are right, such things can go a long way. Thanks for commenting.
October 31st, 2008 at 7:21 am
I’ve never done this myself, but before I even arrived at the word meditation that’s how I completely pictured how that must have felt. Sounds nice, really. The only zoom optics I ever owned were on a rifle of mine (paper target hunter, lol). But I could imagine doing this with a pair of binos. I don’t know anything about birds myself.. but I still think it would be fun. This truly was a bit of blending in, ey?
Sounds relaxing.
Another welcome back.. And, I loved the ending to this post - cute!
November 1st, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Ellie, it is a joy (and somewhat of a mental struggle) to write the Esoteric Saturday pieces for you. I loved doing it before and I will always be willing to do so in the future.
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:40 am
@Jack - BIrding was a lot of fun. I think of it like I do fishing (I fish without bait or a hook) - its a great way to spend time in the natural world without having others disturb you. I have ordered two pairs of binoculars, I’ll have you know. I could not resist the urge.
@Terry - I love your Esoteric Saturday posts and am so glad you are willing to be a regular.
March 18th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Nothing wrong with this, at all, people should get it more.
December 17th, 2011 at 2:34 am
I do trust all the ideas you’ve presented to your post. They are very convincing and can definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are very quick for beginners. May you please prolong them a little from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.