Saturday, March 07, 2015

Be a jewel bird



There are these tiny birds that fly around busily where I live. They are really small, the size of my thumb with a beak that looks super sharp. These little birds come in several gorgeous colours; emerald green, bright blue, glossy black and a few shades in between. I don’t know what they are officially called, in my head they are the jewel birds. I love watching them as they furiously go about collecting food, looking for bits of string or such to build their nest. They go about their business separately, but occasionally get together and chatter awhile before getting back to work. In the evening, they all get back home to a common tree. Chaos ensues before calm falls.

These birds remind me of women, not because they are all female, but because of how different each of them looks and yet, like us, they share something deeper, something so unique. As women, our strength, our fear, our love, our angst are all woven together to make such a remarkable entity.

It was then that a thought occurred, if the women got together, stuck together and stopped being each other’s worst nightmare, who would dare to stand up and do them harm? Who would dare speak against a woman when her fellow females stood rock solid by her?

I would go to war with the women I call my friends by my side. They are my pillars; they are women who have immense inner strength and a beauty of being. They are rough and soft and sweet and sour and catty and humorous and frivolous and deep… they are a glorious multifaceted lot who can make and break the very fabric of this society.

This women’s day, could we all hold up our hands and say we would stand by each other, through thick and thin, better or worse? Could we respect the amazing spirit each one of us has been bestowed with and give a friendly boost to others whose light is flickering? Could we be like those little birds, each individual jewels, who together, are a minefield of beauty and joy?

Let us choose freedom over the petty and stand by each other, for together, we are a truly formidable bunch.

Happy Days, Women.