The Hummingbird Parable - A Metaphor for Life
Following our path in pursuit of our dreams, happiness and true purpose
Life takes us on many different paths as we learn and grow in pursuit of our inner happiness, interests and true purpose. Influenced by the circumstances we find ourselves in, our innate talent, our curiosity, the opportunities presented to us and the support we receive from those around us, every journey follows its own path and there are often many twists and turns along the way.
It made me think of the Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world and what this tiny creature can teach us about our life journey. They are marvels of the sky with their unique and impressive flying abilities; they catch the eye with their iridescent feathers; they have impossibly fast wings and skillful hovering capabilities. In folklore, the Hummingbird is messenger for the Goddess of the Rainbow, Iris, and the God of love, Eros. Their unique ability to fly backwards was seen as a symbol of the power of love to reverse time and change the course of fate.
The Hummingbird Parable
This also brings to mind The Hummingbird Parable written by environmentalist, Professor Wangari Maathai from Kenya. It's a wonderful story about commitment, belief in the power of the individual (however small) and the importance of doing our best, especially in sitations when we feel overwhelmed.
The Parable of the Hummingbird is a story set in a huge forest which is being consumed by a fire. All the animals in the forest are terrified as they watch the forest burning. They are completely overwhelmed and powerless as a tiny Hummingbird comes towards them and says, ‘I’m going to do something about the fire!’
In so doing, the Hummingbird flies to the nearest stream, takes a drop of water and puts it on the fire. At the speed of light, the little bird flies up and down, left to right, forwards, backwards and even upside down to avoid the flames as it deposits its cargo, one tiny drop of water at a time. As the fire rages, the Hummingbird keeps going as the other animals stand around feeling helpless.
As they watch the efforts of the Hummingbird, they ask, ‘What do you think you can do? You are too little. This fire is too big. Your wings are too tiny and your beak is so small, you can only bring a small drop of water at a time.’
They continue to discourage the little bird until it turns to them without wasting any time and says quite simply,
‘I might be the smallest bird in the world but I am doing the best I can.’
A mataphor for life
If you have ever had the pleasure of observing a Hummingbird, you will notice how they fly with absolute precision and speed. They are able to hover, fly to the right, to the left, upwards, downwards, backwards, and upside down. This reminds us that the lighter we are, free from burdens and stress, the more we are able to move with elegance, speed and grace.
Hummingbirds are able to flash their bright coloured wings and hide them when they do not want to be seen. This is an important trait in human beings - know when to show our best colours and demonstrate our skills, and when to be quiet and retreat into the background, depending on the circumstances we find ourselves in.
In Henry Miller's book - Stand Still Like The Hummingbird [1962] - Hummingbirds are portrayed as a metaphor for coping with chaos, stress and life in general. Standing still refers to the bird’s ability to hover due to their oversized heart, while extracting nutritious nectar from beautiful flowers. This reminds us to be still and to go within when we need to take stock and to rest properly when we feel tired, sad, drained or overwhelmed.
Hummingbirds have the largest hearts for their body size of all birds. Their wings can beat 80 times per second and their hearts beat more than 1,000 times per minute. This means that not only are they lightening quick, they are also intelligent birds for their tiny size They are able to remember which flowers they have visited and how long it takes for the nectar to re-fill. This reminds us to always act with good intentions from our heart centre, to fill our hearts with love and to use our minds for practical endeavours, planning ahead and how best to address any challenges that come our way.
Hummingbirds have the ability to employ their heart-driven strength to stay in the present and focus on work in hand as a means to extract life's sustaining nectar. This reminds us to work towards being self-sufficient and at peace with ourselves and others by following our heart and our moral compass, instincts and intuition.
Having recently worked through my transition from one phase of my life to another which at first presented itself to me as fear, the following extract from Henry Miller's book resonated with me perfectly and might be helpful when you feel challenged or overwhelmed:
When you can go neither backward or forward, when you discover you are no longer able to stand, sit or lie down, when you realise you can neither write nor not write, when you are convinced all the exits are blocked, either you take to believing in miracles or you stand still like the Hummingbird. The miracle is that the honey is always there, right under your nose, only you were too busy searching elsewhere to realise it. The worst is not death but being blind, blind to the fact that everything about life is in the nature of the miraculous.
The Hummingbird Hawk Moth
Unfortunately for me, Hummingbirds are not found anywhere in Europe, they live only in the Americas. The cold conditions during Ice Ages drove them away and they never returned. Instead, we have the Hummingbird Hawk Moth (see below) which closely resembles the Hummingbird and can often be seen in urban and suburban gardens across the British Isles.
With a wingspan of 40-50 mm, these Summer visitors migrate from Southern Europe every year to feed on the nectar of Honeysuckle, Red Valerian and other flowers.
If you see a Hummingbird Hawk Moth, it is considered to be a good omen bringing good luck and the promise of personal transformation.
It's a Summer visitor to the British Isles, migrating from Southern Europe each year to feed on the nectar of Honeysuckle, Red Valerian and other flowers. If you see a Hummingbird Hawk Moth, it is considered to be an omen bringing good luck and the promise of personal transformation.
My Spiral Leaf Journey
You may have noticed that since the end of May, I have not been posting content here as regularly as I would like to, except for my poems to welcome in the start of each month accompanied by an Almanac with things to see and do in Nature.
This will continue and I will post as much as I can here while working on a new project to share the life's work of my late Dad, Jeff Cartwright. This is based on Jeff's world-first model for designing superlative motivationing cultures and measuring the impact of culture on people. I am adapting his models and methodology for Home Education for my first book and I will keep you updated on my progress going forward.
Spiral Leaf has grown into a rich source of Nature-inspired content since its launch in January 2021. You can also find Nature-inspired content on my Substack website where I have been posted a collection of long-form essays, recipes and book reviews since December last year.
Spiral Leaf has been growing steadily since its launch. It has been a pleasure to write and create 20 posts about Natural Health, 8 posts about Nature Insights, 11 posts about Spiritual Health, 61 Poems, 35 Book Reviews, 13 Healthy Recipes, 17 photographic Galleries with poetic descriptions, 28 astrological Full and New Moon readings (2023), 12 Almanacs for natural foods in season and things to do in the garden at different times of the year (2023) and this year's Almanacs with things to see and do in Nature, 85 Video Productions and various printable Resources including templates to help you get organised and get closer to Nature as part of your normal routine.
The majority of the content here is timeless and can be referred to anytime you want to relax, learn new things and bring the outside in. This is not the end of my Spiral Leaf journey so I hope you will continue to visit and keep an eye out for new content as and when I am able to share new inspiration with you.
I wish you every happiness on your life's path and that you are able to find solace in Nature every step of the way.
Sue Cartwright
Spiral Leaf
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