We sat around the kitchen table for hours, as we do on most major holidays. Laughing with overstuffed bellies. Out on the deck, a pile of bird nesting material falls to the ground. Looking up, we see where a mamma bird was attempting to build a nest on the upper side of the fan blade.
She would bring nesting material, lay it on the fan, do a bit of a nesting dance--then fly off to gather more material. Before she returned, the material would blow off, falling to the ground in defeat. Again, she would attempt her nest, do a nesting dance, and fly off again.
Amidst our 8 hours of visiting, this bird continued this pattern throughout the entire day. Never making progress.
I couldn't help but laugh, but also feel grief for the mama bird. We attempted to redirect her efforts to an empty cool wipe container, with no success.
It got me thinking how often we come back to the same things over and over and over again. Not making progress. How often do we come back to baseline. Same old habits. Same old sins. Building our lives on a foundation of sand.
Recently, I was struggling through some stuff with Ian. He is not one I come to for comfort. He will not say things to 'make me feel better'. He speaks the truth. Mama bird, why do you keep toiling at this same task to which is obviously not working. Why do you keep coming back.
The problem is, wherever I go. Whatever I do. I am there. I can convince myself, this time will be different. This time I am different. But ultimately, I am attempting to build that same foolish nest. I don't have answers. I don't have a plan of the nest 17 steps I am going to take to fix this. But I do see it. I see the toil. I see that I am attempting to build a nest on a fan blade. I see that, it is time to stop.
1 The words of the Preacher,[a] the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity[b] of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
3 What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens[c] to the place where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7 All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8 All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already
in the ages before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things,[d]
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things[e] yet to be
among those who come after.
Comments