Blogs by Patricia Hilliard
Birds and Words
12/20/2018 12:40:39 PM
At a time of gift giving, I think about the two best gifts I've ever received.
During Christmas, people scurry around trying to find the best gifts for everyone they know. But the best gifts are not for sale. Health. Friendship. Sunshine. You cannot provide better gifts than these.
Here are the two best gifts I've always enjoyed. One is the life of birds. Ever since I earned a badge in scouts for bird identification, I've enjoyed birds. During bad times in my life, when I thought I was doomed, I would look out a window and see a bird out there in this challenging world, surviving in spite of the odds. Birds were like angles that perched near me to remind me that one must keep going and find a way.
Words were another great gift to me. From the early days of my childhood, I would watch my mother as she took a break in the afternoon to read her romance novels. As she sat in her chair, I would see her eyes crossing the page, back and forth. Then I would run around to see what was on the page. Words, nothing but words. But they were magical. She would tell me the story that was happening there. Whole worlds of people traveling, working, shopping. I wanted to learn to read and write so I could be a part of that world of words.
Writing words became my way of understanding my self and the world around me. If I had a problem I could go to my diary and discuss it with myself. Writing words was a gift that kept me on track and living a conscious self-directed life.
As the years passed, writing did not get me much money. But writing is still helping me face getting old. Even if I don't feel I could attempt another novel, I can still write words of poetry. Words in the form of stories published online connects me to a wide world of people and activity. This keeps my mind alert and keeps me involved in human society. On the other hand, birds remind me that I must keep struggling until it's time to take flight.
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More Blogs by Patricia Hilliard
• Snowy Weekend - Monday, January 26, 2026
• Water Everywhere and Not A Drop to Drink - Friday, November 15, 2024
• The Writing Life - Sunday, August 18, 2024
• The Sad History of Nature in Our Town - Tuesday, July 16, 2024
• After 200 years, Bald Eagles appear. - Thursday, April 6, 2023
• Bird Seedy - Wednesday, March 9, 2022
• Dehumanized Humans and Wildlife - Sunday, June 20, 2021
• Discrimination in the World of Bird Watching - Friday, June 11, 2021
• Big Day Bird Count 2021 - Monday, May 10, 2021
• Plant a Pollinator Garden - Sunday, February 28, 2021
• Bird Watching during the Covid-19 Pandemic. - Friday, February 5, 2021
• Clapping for Clapper Rails - Saturday, July 11, 2020
• Beginners and Enders - Monday, November 18, 2019
• Change is the only Constant - Saturday, July 6, 2019
• Sports and Global Warming - Thursday, May 9, 2019
• A Realistic Rodent - Thursday, March 28, 2019
• Bald Eagles Again - Monday, February 18, 2019
• Birds and Words - Thursday, December 20, 2018
• Big Day Bird Walks - Saturday, October 6, 2018
• Nature Therapy--It Works! - Sunday, May 27, 2018
• 2017 A Better Year than Expected - Monday, December 11, 2017
• What the Warbler Migration has Taught Me - Monday, November 27, 2017
• Irony: How a loss of habitat occurs and why. - Tuesday, July 11, 2017
• Bald Eagles Return - Monday, May 8, 2017
• King Rail in Bayonne NJ - Thursday, August 21, 2014
• Snowy Owl Olympics in New Jersey, USA - Saturday, February 15, 2014
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