Watching The Ducks Go By
There I am sitting in my living room gazing out the front window. A warm feeling is generated by the return visit of mister and missus duck and their trailing ducklings. Watching the ducks go by, I notice that the brood is down to 5 when it had counted 7 a couple of days ago. I ponder stuff about the meaning of life. Suddenly, a flurry of activity as duck parents race after the next-door cat and the ducklings are now down to 4. Nature, hey? We view it through rose coloured glasses, when in actual fact, if you actually live in it – it is brutal.
A Duck’s Life Sux
Those ducks had tried to walk through the floor to ceiling glass panes into my living room. Alas, sanctuary was not available to them when it mattered. Of course, cats reside in that in-between realm of pethood, no longer wild animals through no choice of their own but carrying the genes necessary for their survival like for hunting. Most cats do not need to hunt for food, but they are trapped in their halfway house reality. We feel sorry for the cute duckling, for its apparent innocence in a ferocious world. Why did the duckling have to die? Why is life so cruel? Hey, I hope it was a quick death.
Ducking Out Of The Way Of Nature
You cannot get too attached to stuff in nature, as it has a very limited lifespan. Perhaps, this is why we human beings have fast tracked ourselves out of nature into something else. We live in artificial realms, erected by us, to keep nature at bay. We do not want to be vulnerable to the proclivities of the natural world. Oh yeah, there is still that thing called the weather. Watching the ducks go by, as it rains outside, me warm and dry inside pondering about the appetites of nature. We have become the watchers. We watch stuff on screens, a lot, these days. Windows and digital screens. Watching the ducks go by. I could have made a video of the ducklings and posted it online to share the images with others. Share it with other watchers.
Duck Viewing For Adults
The once peaceful troop of duck parents and their rapidly reducing ducklings is no longer a warm memory. Now, it is tainted with the bloody actions of predator upon prey. Watching the ducks go by is not the hopeful springtime story it once was. I wish that ducks do not have long memories. Something tells me that this is probably the case. Living in the moment must be a prerequisite of nature. Perhaps, duck parents do not deeply engage with their offspring – it is a number’s game after all. A grieving duck would be hard pressed to survive, I suspect.
The sleek cat just walked by with all the presence of a powerful predator. Its belly did not look in anyway distended by a little duckling – mostly feathers, I imagine. Watching this real-life movie unfold, from out my window in the suburbs. Watching the ducks go by.
The World Is Made Of Stories
“The world is made of stories and this is how we engage with it. The great trove of myths lies at the heart of who we are. Rational lists of details and events do not move us until they are formed into cogent narratives. Everyone and every group are plying their stories hoping to interest and entangle you within their magical spell. Like a recipe of a favourite dish, it is not until you taste it that you are moved by its wonder. Prior to that it is a mundane list of ingredients printed on a screen or in a book.”
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The Stoic Golfer; Money Matters and America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.
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