Sometimes, the lessons are gentle, and easily mastered. For instance, a few summers ago I learned that when making a right hand turn into traffic, it is best not to float into the left hand lane. Other cars have a tendency to hit you when you do that.
That lesson earned me a brand new fender and a traffic ticket. Oh, and an increase in our insurance premiums. But it was gentle nonetheless - simple cause and effect - and I began to drive more carefully.
Other lessons fall upon us like the two ton anvil that never fails to brain Wile E. Coyote.
The recent wounding of Debbie provided just such a lesson for me.
As I sat in the vet's office, waiting for them to finish stitching up Debbie, I wondered how I would be able to care for a being made so fragile and helpless by circumstance. Was I up to the task? Would I be able to look at my pet and forgive myself for what I had inadvertently caused?
On a superficial level, I had loved Debbie partly because she was a handsome bird, partly because she was so easy to care for. Was I ready to shower the same affection on the creature who would undoubtedly carry scars and might never fully recover?
When the vet carried a very groggy and obviously hurting pet out to me, my first thought was to ask them to keep her until she was better. I was afraid, and I wanted nothing more than to run away.
But after a few minutes, I was amazed to discover that I was beginning to feel OK. I could do this. Something powerful washed over me when I was able to meet my uncertainties and know that they would not defeat me.
Out of this experience rose the conviction that it is possible to love broken things. Furthermore, loving broken things could lead to embracing the broken things that are a part of all of us - the sum of our hurts and disappointments - the parts that send us running away in fear, and holing up inside ourselves. If, instead, we hold those things close and promise to care for them, we might be able to accept those things in others, and love with strength and courage. We are all flawed, yet all equally deserving.
So, Debbie continues to grow stronger each day, showing off her new feathers and acting like her sassy old self. As do I.
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