I’m fortunate to live next to an urban woods and seeing a lot of wildlife. I also have occasion to observe the behavior of people in an association of townhouses whose owners share common property.
And I’ve decided that “behaving like wild animals” is not necessarily a bad thing.
The birds take turns within and among species as they visit our feeders. All show restraint and leave something for others. No individual consumes everything.
Meanwhile, the humans jockey for power, seeking position by badmouthing the neighbors they think won’t support their pet projects, trying to prevent their perceived enemies to be elected to the Board. And when these political animals are elected, they push through projects benefiting their own properties above community property. They even change rules to benefit themselves.
Meanwhile the birds live peaceably. They make excellent neighbors and are non-partisan. They see the bigger picture.
Too bad you can’t put this on a billboard. It applies to people far beyond your association. Thx. I need to work on keeping my thoughts, words and actions with the birds
Hi Linda! Actually, I wrote this months ago and was thinking on several levels — thought it had gone out sooner. That’s one of the greatest things about gardening — the purity and sincerity of the beings we get to interact with. Plants, bees, worms, none of them misbehave and seem to react positively to our presence.