The Great Woodpecker Brigade

Photo by Patrice Bouchard on Unsplash

I’ve been focusing on the computer a lot this week.

I’m working on a few projects: doing homework for an astrologer training program I’m taking, writing for my new Sleuth Hero Alien newsletter, and planning the future of my life coaching business.

On Wednesday, I was in deep focus on the screen, when a noise pulled my attention outside. I looked out the window, and I saw two pileated woodpeckers knocking on a tree.

These were huge woodpeckers, over a foot tall, with prominent red crests on their heads. I often hear them in the woods around my house. Their eery laugh reminds me I live in a wild place.

However, I’ve actually seen them only once or twice. So, that day, when I saw them just outside my window, I knew it was a rare moment. I stopped what I was doing to watch them pull bark off the trees and eat bugs.

As I watched, I noticed a lot of other movement around them. Small birds fluttered in the trees overhead. Northern flickers hopped around the ground below. Robins flew from branch to branch. Another small woodpecker knocked on a nearby tree. There was an entire brigade of birds flying together.

I completely forgot my computer and my work as my attention flowed towards the drama playing out in the trees. I stepped out on the deck to be closer to the birds, and that’s when I noticed my body.

I felt the aches, pains, and tension from sitting too long. I had a crick in my neck, and my hips needed stretching.

It was time to shift my attention from deep focus and into the wildness and freedom of a brigade of birds, working together to hunt for insects. It was time to heed my body and to pay attention to the nature that was calling to me.

Is there something wild and free that is calling for your attention today? What small moment of wonder would nourish your soul?