I Don't Get Any Respect
I was enjoying a delicious late lunch at Roy’s Restaurant at the Pebble Beach Resort when an uninvited guest landed on my table. I looked up and there stood a beautiful black bird staring at me. I laughed and asked her if there was anything I could do for her. She just tilted her head back and forth and seemed to communicate in some obscure bird language.
Our silent communication was interrupted when my waiter started yelling and running at the bird. The bird flew off and the waiter began apologizing for the intrusion of what he called, “a horrible scavenger.” I didn’t think much about the waiter’s disparaging attitude toward my little visitor at the time.
The next morning I walked down the sidewalk toward the same restaurant for breakfast when I heard a screech and there was my little winged friend again. I looked at her and with a pejorative attitude I said, “Oh it’s you, the scavenger.”
In that moment, I froze in my steps. Why was I so disrespectful in deeming this divine creature a “mere disgusting scavenger?”
Scavengers serve a powerful function on our earth. Scavengers feed on dead, decaying, and live organisms. They are the vacuum cleaners of our planet. Whether it is a coyote, wolf, shark, vulture, bird, or housefly, they serve an incredibly meaningful position in our ecosystem.
I sat with my little scavenger for a long time. I apologized to her for my disrespect and thanked her for her service to our world. Again, she communicated to me with her intense eyes and seemed to say, “Thank you for respecting my being.” Thank you dear scavenger for teaching me a valuable lesson about reverent respect, gratitude and awareness.
Source: Dr. Kathleen Hall