But what does this and procrastination
have to do with spirit animals?
The other day a female sparrow joined me on my deck. She sat just a foot away from me. I said hello and thanked her for visiting me. A few years back many sparrows were coming into my yard but after a neighbours fire took away their favourite tree (in my yard) I rarely see them, let alone have a private conversation with one.
To have a visit again, for her to sit and listen to my chatter and babbling about all kinds of things for a good five minutes, was such a wonderful moment.
That night as I lay in
bed wide awake at a late hour, my brain found the answer to my plot/story
issues. 'I can do this,' I said to myself. 'That will work perfectly' - I had
the answer and best of all, my enthusiasm had returned, I felt excited about
writing again.
How did the sparrow fit
in with this new revelation? Perhaps it doesn't, perhaps it was pure
coincidence, a moment of lockdown madness or just wishful thinking.
The next morning I
considered the visit from the sparrow and decided to put it to the test and
searched meanings behind their spiritual inspiration . Here is what I found in
google search - The Sparrow represents - joy, community, teamwork, protection,
hard work, self worth, the keeper of ancestral knowledge (nice one), rebirth,
diligence, creativity, and productivity.
Further searches found this
- 'the sparrow advises you to avoid procrastination and to clear all tasks.' Seriously, I kid you not. How did this sparrow
know? And it went further, 'when you welcome this spirit guide into your life
you'll be equally diligent. You will not be one to procrastinate." And this, 'The sparrow provides you with the
drive you need to achieve goals, it teaches you to be proud of yourself. '
I have to admit this
threw me. I am not normally superstitious or a spiritual person, yet I feel
there was more to this meeting that just a passing visit.
Bede wrote about a
sparrow in 731, only 59 years before my story begins. It is words said to have
been spoken by one of King Edwin's thegns in the mead hall.
"The
present life of man upon earth, O King, seems to me in comparison with that
time which is unknown to us like the swift flight of a sparrow through the
mead-hall where you sit at supper in winter, with your Ealdermen and Thanes,
while the fire blazes in the midst and the hall is warmed, but the wintry storms of rain or snow are raging
abroad. The sparrow, flying in at one door and immediately out at another,
whilst he is within, is safe from the wintry tempest, but after a short space
of fair weather, he immediately vanishes out of sight, passing from winter to
winter again.
So
this life of man appears for a little while, but of what is to follow or what
went before. We know nothing at all." - St.
Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People.
So when a sparrow is
mentioned during my main characters time and visits me in my time of need, one
who listens to me as I babble on and in that same evening answers come to me.
yes, I will take that as spiritual guidance.
Whatever works right?
Not everyone will have
a sparrow come into their life, but perhaps they will find another creature to
set them on the right path, or more likely, it will find them. Of that I am
sure.
If you struggle to find one, just think of the
sparrow as it goes about its daily task, working, productive and creative, remember
its spiritual guide will provides you with the drive you need to achieve your
goals.
You will never look at
a sparrow in the same way. I know I won't.
