The Right Time and the Right Place

I was sitting on the beach during my Little Pink retreat, just letting the sun soak in to my skin and the wind wash over my body. It was a little chilly so I kept searching for the warmest sand with my toes.

My son was in the water playing in the waves and my husband was keeping a close eye on him.

I noticed a group of birds, boat-tailed grackles to be specific, that were flying about in front of me. A lady to my left, decked out in a leopard print bathing suit, large brimmed hat, and oversized sunglasses, threw out a piece of her snack for the birds to eat. One lucky male grackle quickly grabbed it up and began working on it. It was too large for him to swallow right away so he kept moving it about, trying to get it down. During this process, the other birds around him noticed his struggle. They thought it was the perfect opportunity to swoop in and steal his meal, eager for a chance to try his snack on their own.

The bird was frustrated with his snack, and with his friends for trying to take it from him. He ran a foot or two away from the hungry crowd and tried again. No luck. He ran another foot away, they followed right behind him. In a moment of what must’ve been real grackle anger, he took flight and swooped away - a good fifty feet from the group. It was far enough off that they weren’t interested in trying to chase him, and they turned their attention to the leopard print bathing suit lady to try their luck again.

Watching this grackle try to eat his meal gave me a bit of a chuckle. It reminded me of myself, trying to eat in front of my son when he was a toddler lol.

The grackle was trying so hard to eat his food in peace, yet he had a crowd around him. This crowd wasn’t there to cheer him on and watch him succeed - it was there to wait for him to give up so they could benefit from his failures. And while he tried to put some physical space in between himself and the other birds while he worked things out, they were insistently following him and watching. Sometimes when we need to figure our problems out, it’s easy to put them out where everyone can see and allow everyone to have input on what’s going on. When in truth, the best thing we can do is give space. Making space - be it physical, emotional, or mental - but making space away from distractions, people, & the wrong influences, can give us clarity and solutions to our challenges.

Be mindful of the space you give yourself and the spaces you allow others into - there’s a whole beach out there you can fly around in and lots of room to spread your wings while you figure things out. Take your time and take up space!