I have some pet finches. It's a long story how I became their custodian, but they are really sweet and I have learnt a lot from them. Sometimes I think they are smarter than me :) God loves the birds, sometimes I think they are closely behind people in His most treasured of creations.
Two of the birds have bred really quickly in less than half a year. About half of the babies died. Some from natural causes, some from accidents because I was moving cages around and there were casualties - they are very delicate. I consider all of this natural selection, as you might have noticed cages is plural :)
It is because these birds have bred so quickly that the cycle was perpetuated. I didn't want to separate the parents until the babies were trained, but possibly (I am almost sure) the babies were not grown enough by the time the mature birds mated again and before I knew it, there were three batches, one right after the other. There was no time to really develop the baby birds, the parents were on to the next one!
Now a new batch hatched a week or two ago, and the other two are in a separate cage as of a couple of days ago. I had to separate them because the dad was getting aggressive, and bullying them pretty badly. What I noticed leading up to the new cage is that the oldest batch (only one bird now) was sort of teaching the newer birds how to behave. It was really sweet to see. Now they are in their own cage and I am noticing there is not much mentoring happening. In fact, there is no much happening at all.
I made a possible connection that they didn't have enough time between each generation to grow in security. And before anyone concludes I am way over-thinking this, let me explain. Since I learn a lot about nature through nature, I made a connection between neglectful parenting, and stunted emotional growth.
These birds barely come out of their nest, even though I bought them a swing and toys, and they have a beautiful new home without any adult birds chasing them around, squawking at them. So why are they not enjoying their new space? Why do we, as people, stay stuck and fearful? Could there be a connection to our upbringing (or lack thereof).
It is so easy to blame failure on addiction, mental health, a recession, whatever. But maybe it's because we don't want to work hard, because that means we have to emerge from our "nest", or take chances because we have been (unintentionally) programmed to believe that we can't possibly be noticed or liked, so why bother going up against someone more qualified or charismatic? Why risk one more attempt to have a big fat life, only to instead become completely dejected and embarrassed.
But now I know that defeatist thinking isn't a result of some emotional hangup, it is not destiny, and it most certainly is not justified. Today I believe in determination and perseverance. I believe in coming out of the nest, and I believe that with the right training, people can be as competitive as the next, no matter the disadvantaged background or trauma.
I have since moved the new bird cage closer to one that has more mature birds in it, so they can see the other birds and hopefully learn new ways of spending their days, through them. Because I know that with the right support, they will have good lives, despite a few bad days at the beginning of them.
Two of the birds have bred really quickly in less than half a year. About half of the babies died. Some from natural causes, some from accidents because I was moving cages around and there were casualties - they are very delicate. I consider all of this natural selection, as you might have noticed cages is plural :)
It is because these birds have bred so quickly that the cycle was perpetuated. I didn't want to separate the parents until the babies were trained, but possibly (I am almost sure) the babies were not grown enough by the time the mature birds mated again and before I knew it, there were three batches, one right after the other. There was no time to really develop the baby birds, the parents were on to the next one!
Now a new batch hatched a week or two ago, and the other two are in a separate cage as of a couple of days ago. I had to separate them because the dad was getting aggressive, and bullying them pretty badly. What I noticed leading up to the new cage is that the oldest batch (only one bird now) was sort of teaching the newer birds how to behave. It was really sweet to see. Now they are in their own cage and I am noticing there is not much mentoring happening. In fact, there is no much happening at all.
I made a possible connection that they didn't have enough time between each generation to grow in security. And before anyone concludes I am way over-thinking this, let me explain. Since I learn a lot about nature through nature, I made a connection between neglectful parenting, and stunted emotional growth.
These birds barely come out of their nest, even though I bought them a swing and toys, and they have a beautiful new home without any adult birds chasing them around, squawking at them. So why are they not enjoying their new space? Why do we, as people, stay stuck and fearful? Could there be a connection to our upbringing (or lack thereof).
It is so easy to blame failure on addiction, mental health, a recession, whatever. But maybe it's because we don't want to work hard, because that means we have to emerge from our "nest", or take chances because we have been (unintentionally) programmed to believe that we can't possibly be noticed or liked, so why bother going up against someone more qualified or charismatic? Why risk one more attempt to have a big fat life, only to instead become completely dejected and embarrassed.
But now I know that defeatist thinking isn't a result of some emotional hangup, it is not destiny, and it most certainly is not justified. Today I believe in determination and perseverance. I believe in coming out of the nest, and I believe that with the right training, people can be as competitive as the next, no matter the disadvantaged background or trauma.
I have since moved the new bird cage closer to one that has more mature birds in it, so they can see the other birds and hopefully learn new ways of spending their days, through them. Because I know that with the right support, they will have good lives, despite a few bad days at the beginning of them.
"Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" - Matthew 6.26
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