Take the King of the Jungle--the brave and mighty lion. We put the label on the animal and treat it as such. But does the lion regard itself with a haughty nature? Is it even aware of our perspective? Do the other animals of the jungle who know nothing about labels 'bow down' to the lion or treat it differently than any other animal? Do they not fight for survival against the lion regardless of it's size or stature or place on the food chain? Is there really an animal that rules the jungle, or is it just our perspective.
What about the skies? From an American point of view, we regard the Bald Eagle with honor and majesty in it's role as a symbol of what we hold important to this country. But it's our perspective. Granted, those who live in a place where dozens of the birds can be seen regularly in one sitting might not be as awestruck as those who rarely, if ever, get the chance to see one. But does the American Bald Eagle know it's importance? Does it sense that it carries a certain weight not only to us, but among the animal kingdom? In competition for survival in the wild, does it win out because other animals give way to the eagle?
I pondered that question while observing eagles last spring. I watched how a "lowly, common" Canada Goose threatened an eagle, flying after it in attack mode, assuming it wasn't over food, but more likely in defense of a nest it was guarding.
Watching this, my first instinct was to mentally scold the goose, saying "How dare you treat our symbol that way! How disrespectful! Don't you know who that is?? What nerve!!" I caught myself in my thinking, realizing that while observing these two animals' interactions, neither bird was aware of the labels I had attached to them. They were equals, fighting for what they wanted or needed on a level, even playing field and the Canada Goose had every right to stand up for what was important to it, regardless of the animal it was opposing.
An even playing field. Mutual respect. I recall a time, coincidentally also, last spring, when I was doing an activity with the children in my class. It involved their handprints and footprints. (Parents tend to hold dear and cherish artwork that has true identifying characteristics of their young child.) When it came to doing the footprints, the kids squiggled and squirmed when I painted their foot with the color of their choosing and they giggled when they stood up on the paper and the paint squished under their foot. I had a tub of warm, bubbly water readily available to immerse their foot in for a quick washing, and individual paper towels for them to dry their foot. For the 5 seconds it took for me to get the paint out from between their toes, there was a momentary humble respect in the act of washing each foot. Yes, of course in the clean-up after an activity such as this, the teacher certainly must assist the children, and although a religious biblical story came to mind, it was moreso the level of respect and honor, regardless of our roles, that I felt for each child which left an imprint not only in their artwork, but in my heart.
To see more images of the eagles taken that day, go to the March 2011 link on my blog archive to the right of your screen and click on "A Different Pair of Bald Eagles". More eagle photos of another pair are in the February '11 archive, and more recently, two seperate posts in September: Bald Eagle and Freedom.
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