(3 min read)
A tiny brown bird perches atop the tallest Oak tree down by the creek. He is unlike the vibrant Cardinal, the noisy and often annoying Blue Jay, or the gracefully swooping Barn Swallow. Despite his size, there is no doubt the Wren has the largest song in the area. I often shake my head in pure wonder that a voice that big can come out of a body so small. It is like watching America’s Got Talent – Backyard Edition. I often wish I had a Golden Buzzer.
I trust I can speak for many of us when I say, we have felt small and nondescript, instead of vibrant or graceful. We feel small when someone criticizes our work, or is mad at us. We can feel small because of the manner in which another speaks to us, or doesn’t. There are times we choose to play small to stay hidden and safe: we fly under the radar so no one notices us. We want to avoid detection or conflict. We choose silence when inside we want to burst forth.
Then there is the Wren. One of the tiniest birds in the yard and yet there is no missing them when they want to sing. They celebrate who they are. They are loud and proud. They have embraced their size and have not let it impact their song. Author Joanna Macy reminds us, “There is a song that wants to sing itself through us.”
What is the song that wants to sing itself through you? Do you find yourself living small? It is easy to so. Playing small can squelch our song. We can learn from the Wren to embrace our true self, to celebrate who we are and to lift our voice. I leave you with a poem by Marianne Williamson, from her book Return to Love.
Where is your voice needed today?
Sending you wren energy to find your song,
Andrea
Our Deepest Fear
By Marianne Williamson
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.
We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
You playing small
Does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us;
It’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liber
Andrea Tatley 