A Lesson in Life from a Roseate Spoonbill

“How things look on the outside of us depends on how things are on the inside of us.”

 A typical morning morning walking the trail getting some exercise and taking some shots. At this particular spot along the slough about one-half inland from Galveston Bay I came across a roseate spoonbill feeding alone in the water.

As I stopped to take a few shots I quickly noticed the roseate wasn't walking and feeding as I have seen them do many times before. The roseate's I've seen always walk in the water with their spoonbill below the surface and move it back and forth, left and right, like a wiper blade on a car. This spoonbill, alone where I normally have seen two or more together, was flapping it's wings to get enough height to move from one spot to another. It make continuous short flights to feed in different spots.

It was great to take photos because I was able to get some good views of the beautifully expanded pink wingspan, but I was puzzled as to why the roseate was behaving in such a manner. My only thought as I watched and took pictures was maybe this roseate never learned the technique as I had seen in all the others. I moved on, took more shots in various other spots along the trail, but thought of that roseate most of the morning as I was both puzzled at it's actions and curious how good some of the shots were going to come out.

Later that morning when I got home, over a cup of coffee and breakfast, I was scanning through the pictures I had taken to see if I took any good ones. As I was going through them on my large flat panel screen I saw what I didn't see through the lens of the camera. The roseate behavior was no longer a mystery to me. Although at first I was captivated by the beauty of the bird in the photo, as I looked closer and studied it more, I was saddened by what I saw. The roseate made those short tiny flights to move and feed in the water because it had a broken leg and the bone was protruding near the knee. 

"Wow!" I said to myself, leaning back in my chair and thinking. There I was enjoying the beauty of the bird, hoping to take a great photo, not understanding the movements of the bird, only to come to realize that the bird was struggling to survive. A sunken feeling came over me.

How often in life do we quickly see something and come to judgement, not knowing why someone behaves the way they do? How often to see the beauty or success of another and not come to think that their struggles may be greater than ours and their pains stronger? How often do we judge and condemn the failures and problems of others without knowing the path that brought them there or opportunities and chances they didn't have or didn't take that put them on a path they would rather not be on today?

If our minds could freeze the moments we experience daily to give us time to analyze it as a photographer may analyze his or her work, I think we'd see more and feel more. In this fast paced world where we are so much in a hurry to get through the day and through the week, to finish a project or take our next vacation, if for only one part of the day we can think more about what we are seeing and experiencing and allow ourselves to feel and react to it, our lives will be more fulfilling: we would be less critical and more compassionate.

Every day is precious, open up your soul, be on-guard for those special moments and make a difference.

Just One Pitch

"Self confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings."
Dr. Samuel Johnson

I can remember it was a warm summer day in our backyard in Plainville, Connecticut on Burnside Avenue. It was getting late in the afternoon and I was playing with my baseball bat and ball. My brother Paul and I had just got done finishing playing and my father had pulled in the driveway from work.

I yelled over to my Dad as he was about to walk into the house, ‘Dad could you come pitch me the ball?” He hesitated and I asked again, although I sensed he wanted to get in and ready for dinner.

He stepped in the yard and I threw him the tennis ball to pitch to me. “Just one pitch,” he said.

The yard from side to side is no more than 20 yards. I was lined up against the fence to the left and he lined up to pitch the ball with the fence to his back on the right side of the yard.

The pitch came in just perfect and I hit if well over his head, over the fence, into our neighbors yard. I figure I was about seven or eight when that happened so the distance of the hit to me then was like hitting it out of Yankee Stadium.

Just one pitch. My father went in, we all had dinner, and I was the proudest kid in the world at that moment. So proud to show my father how good I can hit.

I look back at my life and that is one of the moments that stick out. The homeruns I hit in little league and high school are vague memories compared to that little hit only he and I saw.

Those are the moments that shape us and those are the moments we help shape others. It’s simple little successes that help gain our confidence and encourage us to keep moving forward. It’s the time we take to help others realize their potential, encourage them, and help them succeed; sometime unknowingly.

We all have the opportunity in our lives to ask for that pitch to be thrown, or to throw that pitch. Happiness and Success in life comes from small meaningful accomplishments that strengthen our self-esteem.

Swing your bat! Pitch the Ball

MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE'S LIFE TODAY

"The purpose of life is not to be happy - but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all." ~Leo Rosten









"Make a difference in someone's life today."

If you are around my house on a Saturday morning you will often hear me say that to Sarah, our high school senior, as she leaves the house at 8:30am on the way to gym to teach young girls gymnastics. As I said this yesterday our youngest Rebecca was listening and I turned the conversation to her and we discussed how "it's the little things we can do that can make a difference."

Now that Sarah drives herself to the gym, I miss those 20 minutes there and back having these discussions in more detail and in a captured setting. But I know the thought has sunken in as today, Sunday, she is leaving to go back to the gym, normally she has Sunday off, to run a birthday party for one of her students. Sarah asked me for a few bucks to buy the girl a birthday present saying "this little girl loves me."

How do we make a difference? We make a difference by caring and giving. We make a difference by consciously deciding to leave someone feeling better through our engagement than hoping to take something from it. It doesn't necessarily mean a tangible act, but could just be kind words of encouragement, hope, or love lifting someones feelings, thoughts, and emotions about themselves.

Whether it's with friends, coworkers, family, or strangers we meet at the store, coffee shop, track meet or wherever, what we do and say can "Make a Difference in Someone's Life Today."

PICTURE: Stan and Cynthia Myslenski canoeing down the Farmington River with their kids and grandkids making a difference.