The other morning I went out to our garden for a few moments of meditation before finishing the illustrations for my children’s books. Soon after I sat down on the lawn, I heard scratching sounds coming from inside the metal drain pipe that runs down from the roof. It occurred to me that one of the young birds that recently hatched nearby had somehow managed to get itself trapped in the pipe, and couldn’t fly up to escape. Realizing that it would slowly cook to death once the sun rose, I opened the bottom of the pipe, just below the bend, hoping it would find its way out. A few minutes later I opened my eyes at the sound of frantic wings as the excited bird blasted away into the trees, chirping wildly to its friends about its scary adventure! I’ve never gone out to sit at that particular spot before. How very auspicious.
In a world full of mutual distrust and back-stabbing, it’s an inspiration every time strangers take an opportunity to help each other. I was recently ripped-off by one of those many ‘vanity publishing’ companies out there. (In this case it was Diggory Press, who’s proprietor is being taken to court by many injured writers this summer.) It came as quite a shock to discover that not only was my money up-in-smoke, but that I would not be published in time for my upcoming organized deadlines. Well, as good fortune would have it, my fall was not as hard as it could have been. Through this drama I was lucky to become acquainted with an amiable and enthusiastic educator/writer named Stephen who, with his family, lives on the windswept Atlantic coast of Ireland where he has just started a small but reputable publishing company (CheckPointPress.com). Everything worked out perfectly for me to publish in time, and that with comfortingly transparent, encouraging arrangements.
I just wanted to share these small events to encourage other eager birds like me to keep watch for the helping hand just around the next hard corner.
(p.s.- Something else: Do you usually remember what you just dreamed if you wake up suddenly? I don’t normally remember, but this morning I heard this in deep sleep: ‘There’s a way of waking up in time.’ Then I opened my eyes. Then my alarm rang. There’s a lot that we still have to learn about ourselves.)
Self-Help 
What a sweet post. If we each took just a small portion of our time to help another, life would be so amazing.
Thank you for the lightness!
And thank you, Nick. After all, it’s not everyone in our society that can appreciate lightness 🙂
Thanks god the bird is free now! thank you for sharing, i loved to read! r.
last night i was filling my room water cooler switched on the electric water motor to fill it up and was having fun talk with my wife , then we slept and forgot to switch off the motor because of the coolness from air of cooler, in the morning my feet touching the bed felt like some sound of being hit and i went outside and saw that the motor was still on, i was so amazed to see that the sheer coincidence that i usually donot get up at 4:00 am but it was for this thing which made me wakeup i switched off the motor and waste of water with it …a happy surprise