Eagle lifting
Thoughts sifting
Foot connecting
One after the other
Mind drifting
Hearing sentences
Running through my head
What he said
She said
Barbs that stick like burrs
As consciousness whirls
Memories dredging
What does this mean?
What did that?
Nothing particularly matters
Once you understand
It’s all just words
Habits
People’s verbal vomits
Things they say
That you don’t have to hold onto
Nobody is bad
Nobody good
Judgement is a hook
That winds us tighter
A dog attached by a chain to pole
Ends up pinned
As he goes around and around
Why does he do that?
You wonder
As you lead him back the other way
Why go around and around in the same direction?
Just head back the other way
Look out the window and he’s done it again
He judges her
She judges him
You judge him as saying it
It begins
And around and around
We go
The only thing to do with judgement
Is
To
Let
That
Shit
Go
Step aside
Nothing to do with you
All just words
That flew in one ear
Out the other
And what does any of it matter
On a morning as beautiful as this?
**
I was thinking about judgement this morning as I tromped along.
Don’t get me wrong – I have had one of the best family Christmas’s in a long time.
But three days with people all crammed under the same roof – as a person that needs at least an acre of space around me and lots of time by myself – I was beginning to feel scratchy
Which is where walking off to nowhere helps.
I was gifted the sight of a huge wedge tail eagle lifting off the roo carcass he had been feeding on.
So close I could nearly touch him/her
Huge
Amazing
They are a rare sight after being hunted to near extinction – so I felt particularly blessed to see this great bird
And so close
Which has nothing to do with anything
Except that I had been thinking about judgement and had this bit of an epiphany about how it really doesn’t bother me anymore and why
Judgement is a funny thing because as soon as you feel yourself being judged
You are judging someone as having judged you and before you know it
You’re off on a war in your own head
Which should instead
Be filled with early morning scenery
And nice deep breaths
Yet we get sucked in
Baited
Into arguments with this nasty little imaginary parrot
The only way to deal with someone’s criticism (implied, perceived or real) is to not engage the parrot in conversation.
Shoot the parrot
(Metaphorically of course)
Do not let the parrot into your head
It will fly around and drive you mad
Sensitive people do this – I used to do this
Now I just
Shoot the effing parrot as soon as it begins
Who gives a damn what a bloody parrot thinks anyway?
Timely advice from the Eagle 🦅
Thought I would pass it along
Nice to be back – hope you all had a very special Christmas – I certainly did.
We (husband and I) are now back in our tiny off grid hut in the tree tops with no wifi (but phone service to post this and a pile of books and scrabble) the sound of Kookaburras and Cicadas as I type and all that weird stretchy time between Christmas and New Year aaaaaahhhhh love it.
Nice post , Kate. May the new year bring you all the dreams to their fulfilment ❤️🤗
Thanks Yassy, you too 😊
❤️🤗
How fantastic to see the eagle up close! This post made me smile from beginning to end. Thank you 🙂
Pleasure 😊
From here on out when I see a dog wrapping it’s lead around an object I will be reminded to clear the clutter from the ol brain. That is the perfect description. I have countless mind hounds that have worn paths in the landscape of my thoughts.
2 nights ago Jase and I were discussing how differently he and I are wired. He feels a monsoon of emotion and then with in minutes or hours he’s forgotten all information as to what hurt him.
I’m a slow simmer. The mind of an analytic. If the words cut deep enough they will be triggered for years. I’ve had ONE compliant in almost 4 years of cleaning for people, one. Every damn time I’m at that persons house that one complaint nips at my heels for the full 7 hours of cleaning. It’s gotten a bit better, it just takes me a while to chip away at things until they no longer sting.
Glad you are back in solitude 🙂
❤️I’m replying to this later but high-fiving you now
“The only way to deal with someone’s criticism (implied, perceived or real) is to not engage the parrot in conversation.” Badda Bing! Great lines – This is a lovely poem!
Hey guys, thanks
Also helps to watch Monty Python’s ‘Dead Parrot’ sketch to enjoy a different perspective on the ‘talking to parrots’ thing. 🙂
I only ever got to see the wedge-tailed eagles from afar, but a bonus here is that a family of bald eagles has been nesting on our lake for a few generations and we get to see them up close and personal. winged raptors are truly awe-inspiring creatures to all of us soft-bodied prey. 🙂
Bald eagles would be similarly awe inspiring to witness. Will have to check the dead parrot Monty 🦜
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