Thoughts on the Pigeon and the Crow

I did a double-take. A pigeon and a crow in the same tree? The crow was cawing and the pigeon was doing short, pecking movements as pigeons do. Searching my memory, I couldn't remember seeing one bird that had a history of eating the other sitting together in the same tree.

Of course, my imagination went right to the US Presidential Debate my husband and I had watched until we both felt the need to watch Jeopardy instead. I resisted the temptation to attach a bird to a debater. Instead, my thoughts were about how nature is once again showing us the way. (See Wild Life is Leading the Way.)

Pigeons belong to the Columba genus and crows to the Corvus genus. Crows have been known to kill and eat pigeons. Perhaps this crow was eyeing its lunch, but the pigeon didn't seem to be frightened or bothered by the crow, bored maybe, but not frightened.

I couldn't resist making a few comparisons between the birds and the debate many of us watched last night (Tuesday, Sept. 10/2024). Two very different birds were sitting in a tree together and two very different presidential hopefuls were standing in a room together. The debate rules were that only one could speak at a time. I clearly went by this tree when it was the crow's turn to caw and I didn't stick around to see if the pigeon got a turn. The similarities were striking, and again, I did not associate one bird with one debater because nature isn't like that. A crow doesn't care which bird it eats. A pigeon doesn't choose which crow it wants to be eaten by.

What is nature implying, then, if there's an implication to be had? I'd have to say that when these birds can sit in the same tree communicating, why can't we humans sit in the same tree and have a productive conversation. If these instinctual enemies can sit in close proximity of each other without eating each other for lunch why can't we?

The answer lies in what I sense is a rising tide of polarity AND of oneness and non-duality. Polarity says that others are hurting us and taking away from us. We have seen the results of that point of view on the infamous September 11th attack. Examples abound through multiple wars where groups of people are being targeted and slaughtered. When our human needs seem like they're not being met and we're feeling more lack than plenty, it's easy to point fingers at the 'others' who are perceived as villains for even being in 'our' country. In North America, we'd have to apply that definition of villain to anyone who is not Indigenous.

Now, I haven't studied Oneness, Wholism or Non-duality in depth. I only know what I have experienced and what I've read that seems true to me. Opposite of polarity is non-duality that says 'not two', separation is not real, and that we have universal consciousness. I believe, through Creator's Love, Oneness does exist and have seen a glimpse of that possibility, but it's real hard to accept and understand that point of view when we haven't experienced it or perhaps not even thought that we could all be connected. We know about examples of behavior throughout history that point to this universal consciousness. I immediately think of Mother Theresa and Ghandi whose lives were about service and through serving strove to bring us together despite our differences. I searched for leaders of the concept of 'oneness' and didn't find anybody alive today that was searchable on Google. I assume there are many out there, but Google only showed me polarities in the Pentecostal church for and against oneness.

I finally found two articles that made sense to me. The first article I found was from Spiritual Shifts by Kasia Jarosinska, a U.S. website. She refers to non-duality and her journey through Satsang which is the heart of Yoga practice. This quote stood out for me in her article on Oneness:

If you are suffering, you are in an illusion of separateness. You must come back to your source, to your creator. All that you are should be directed into this oneness. Your home, your friends, your work, your day, your time, your feelings, your clothes, your activities, your emotions (even if they aren’t pleasant), your thoughts, your words, they stem from ONE source, the[y] breathe, live, and have their being in the ONE true reality that contains only goodness.

She also encourages us to live our lives through Source, Creator, the One True Reality which is Love. "All you need is love..." John Lennon.

The second article by Jim Baker offered Oneness As a Stage of Spirituality suggesting that Oneness is the last stage of four on our spiritual journey which are 1. Knowing About God; 2. Knowing God; 3. Moving to an Inner Experience; and 4. Experiencing Oneness with God, Others and Creation.

I feel as if I am an infant in stage four, and I am clueless where it goes from here. Though using the term spiritual journey implies a destination, I sense there are other paths yet to follow and maybe even additional stages left to discover. At the very least, much more remains to be learned and experienced about each of these stages of spiritual growth.

He goes on to say:

…oneness was not a word used in my Evangelical vocabulary, but I discovered it is frequently used in more contemplative and mystical expressions of Christianity.

…Yet, oneness is also a biblical term and in many respects conveys a different, if not deeper meaning. My Evangelical language refers to God and Christ as “other or separate than” and oneness denotes a “same as.” And, both are true. We are not God, yet we are made in His image and likeness.

Perhaps you, the reader and Mr. Baker would agree, or not, when I say that we are not God nor the Universal Consciousness, yet we are all Creators capable of consciousness. Both are true, yet this concept of Oneness through love is possibly known only by a few and not yet experienced by the majority of humans.

So thoughts on the Pigeon and Crow--they are separate yet both are birds. Both are true. If they could sit in a tree together, we can all sit beside someone who disagrees with us and have at least a decent conversation. Dare I say it that through love I could even believe with all my heart that I might even love that person sitting next to me despite our disagreement. How? By grace. I end this blog with another quote from an author and leader I admire, Caroline Myss, from her book called Intimate Conversations with the Divine.

We now live in the age in which 'becoming whole' is a living command within our soul. Everything we do, say, think, and feel has a subtle template of 'wholism' built into it. We now think about our health and our body as a whole life system—one that interconnects our emotions, our intellect, our spirit, and our body. The law of wholism reveals that what is in one is in the whole, and what is done to one is done to the whole. Perceiving our world through the power and prism of Wholeness is a far greater challenge than, say, eating right. Living the law of wholism requires that you enter into the true meaning of the word. It shares a root with holy. The laws governing all of life are holy. All is one, and all life breathes together. The grace to become whole is, in truth, the grace to know and understand the power of all that is holy within you.

Myss, Caroline. Intimate Conversations with the Divine (p. 81). Hay House. Kindle Edition.

I have to add one more idea into this mix of quotes and thoughts on birds. Collectively, we are all on a trajectory toward this oneness, this kind of love, and the more we open ourselves to the possibility of a state that allows us to be one and human, the more we will be able to say with Kasia Jarosinska that with "all that you are should be directed into this oneness", with Jim Baker that "there are other paths yet to follow and maybe even additional stages left to discover", and with Carolyn Myss, "the grace to become whole is, in truth, the grace to know and understand the power of all that is holy within you."

Wow, the pigeon and the crow are way ahead of most of us humans. Thank-you birds and US Presidential Debaters for the inspiration!