Be Fearless

The osprey have mostly left our area, save a few stranglers working their way south.  Once they leave, the eagles move back along the shoreline to stake their claim to the tall pines for the best fishing perches. They are here all summer alongside the osprey, but they keep a much lower profile until their loud and sometimes obnoxious neighbors fly south, giving them free reign once again.

As the osprey give way to the eagles, you can almost feel a change in the air.  The thunderous sounds of their wings overhead seem so much stronger and more free than those of the smaller osprey that outnumber them during the summer months.  It truly is something to be sitting on the pier or on our patio and hear the sound of those big wings and the shadow they create as they fly out for the hunt each morning and back home when the sun goes down.

But it is on days like today that I think I admire those hulking birds of prey the most.  Rainy, windy days when the river is angry and the white caps make it look like a churning caldron.  The eagles seem to thrive on this sort of weather, almost daring the wind and the waves to ruin their day or keep them from their next meal.

Instead of hunkering down and letting the weather calm down, they choose to soar and ride the air currents like daredevils.  They screech to one another with the enthusiasm of young children chasing each other on a playground.  And they dive and dance, sometimes with a purpose and sometimes it seems as though they do it just for the shear enjoyment...without fear, without hesitation, without concern for who might be watching.

I think we can learn a lot from the eagles, about living each day and facing adversity with a strength and joy that makes us resilient.  Today, dare to spread your wings and fly as if no one was watching, without fear of failure, and with all the happiness you can muster...Be Fearless!!!