Samsara

Image: Bar-Headed Geese

Here I am. I wish I could blog that I've been away living the high life these past few months. But the truth is that rather than sink myself and this blog into a depression, I took some time off. I've been floating instead of flying. (Unglamorous, I know).

When I was a little girl, I would birdwatch on early Saturday mornings with my grandparents. So when on the morning of my grandfather's funeral, I met a pair of mourning doves on the walk up the drive to grandad's house, I took it as a sign. Together the doves flew up to the rooftop to sing me their sad song. And I wished I too were a bird. But to reach the heavens, I'd have to be a bar-headed goose - they can fly the highest.

Bar-headed geese are actually swans, called the hamsa in Indian culture. They are considered the king of birds and possessors of sacred knowledge. The hamsa are able to fly more than 33,000 feet over the Himalayas (and Mount Everest) at 50 km per hour from their home of Tibet to winter in India. Their flight is considered divine "continuous flow" and outside the cycle of samsara (life, death, and rebirth).

The hamsa's flight pre-dates the geography of the land and altitude of the moutains. Rather than change their course, the hamsa swans have stubbornly adapted to become super birds: They have a larger wing span for their weight, they are able to breathe under low oxygen conditions and reduce their heat loss, and the haemaglobin of their blood has higher levels of oxygen affinity.

Remarkable! I should also mention that they eat pearls. These birds are glamour.

I dedicate this post to my grandparents, Valentino (1935-2010) and Esterina (1937-2003) who loved birds. Their kind spirit and love of nature mended many broken wings. They would expect me to fly. Real high. And adapt, like a super bird. I miss them.

A heartfelt thanks to all my supporters. Who kept checking back. And who kept asking for more.