Animals as Teachers: Hummingbird

I have been blessed by having a hummingbird show me where she built her nest. She, the hummingbird, and I met to face to face. She hovered in the magical way hummingbirds do, about 6″ from my face. She had a bit of spider web dangling from her beak. For a few seconds we looked at each other then she darted behind a leaf. Curiously, I peered behind the leaf thinking I’d observe her resting. Instead, I saw her snuggled down in her nest. I stared in wonder at the placement of the nest, so close to a busy path, yet it was safe among thorns with leaves overhead for rain protection. And then I thought about the symbolism of a hummingbird who is often darting here and there being able to sit and tend to her eggs.
Over the past few weeks, I have been observing her sitting on her nest, curious when the chicks would hatch. One day last week, I peered into the nest and there was one chick and then next day two. I marvel at the nest and how it has not yet split open from these two growing chicks. Remember that spider web dangling from her beak? Research has revealed to me that a spider silk, used in a hummingbird nest construction, helps give it a stretchy, elastic quality to expand with the chicks’ growth and movement and the mother hummingbird will frequently patch and repair the nest after the chicks have hatched to ensure it stays durable as long as necessary. The hummingbird chicks won’t leave the nest until they are the size of an adult – so that nest has to be strong and durable and able to stretch while the chicks grow strong enough to fly on their own.
This amazing nest-building has reminded me that, for all successful growth, a solid foundation is needed. For a hummingbird, a solid foundation includes the super-strong spider silk that allows and accommodates for the stretching and growth of the chicks. When you open your heart and your mind enough to listen to an animal as a Teacher, anything and everything about them give you insight into their teachings for you. And when you work on the foundations of listening to your intuition by trusting what your body, gut, the Universe is telling you then your nest will expand. The human bodies are wondrous telepathic sending and receiving stations and acknowledging and listening to the messages your body receives will expand your telepathic ability with animals and all of life – weaving the web of interconnectedness.
Originally posted April 2017
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Sources:
https://www.thespruce.com/all-about-hummingbird-nests-386644
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/technology/article23721193.html

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