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Perspective: The Robin At My House

Elsa Glover

These last few weeks, I’ve watched a robin build a nest on my front porch, lay eggs and then take care of her four babies. The mama bird goes about her days. She feeds her babies, she keeps them warm and protected.

Nature has provided her the ability to do all these tasks sufficiently. It’s instinctual for the mama robin.

The mama robin does what any mama robin would do; she’s a mama robin and that’s who she is. She lives her purpose with courage and strength.

That mama bird unknowingly challenges us. How authentic are we? Shakespeare wrote, “To thine own self be true.” And that seems smart -- accept ourselves as we are.

The trick is dropping the masks we’ve created to please others to show our natural selves. Braving those first few moments free from other people’s expectations can feel rather vulnerable. Fear can stop us right here if we let it. It takes courage and strength to continue on authentically.

That mama bird is who she is. Period. How amazing is that? No trying to juggle what the other birds expect. No struggling over creating a fancier nest or upgrading to a new nest.

As I watch her out the window, I wonder, can it be that simple?

I’m Elsa Glover and that’s my perspective.

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