If You Were An Animal, What Would You Be?

I think if I could be any animal, I would be a bird.  Probably a duck.

Today I spent the afternoon on Wards Island beach, alone.  I was having a “me” day or a “me” afternoon.

Its hard to pull yourself away from home or work for some mental and physical breathing room – you feel the pull of your kids, the lure of knocking things off your work “to-do” list or feel that if you have or are able to carve out some time, that it should be spent doing something fun with your family.  The hardest part is leaving your house, or leaving your desk, but once you do, it feels darn good!

As I got on my bike, I felt my chest open up. I could breath.  I felt my body soften, my vision widen, things that were not so important, fall off to the way side and important things come to the forefront. I felt the moment take over.

Boarding the ferry boat, I felt the breeze of the warm summer air and the scent of the lake.  A scent I love.

So back to how I got to the realization that if I ever was an animal, I would want to be a duck.  I was sitting on the beach and all of a sudden a flock of ducks in perfect triangular form came swooping around the Ward’s peninsula.  It was breathtaking.

The flock seemed to be over 100 ducks all aligned, flowing in tandem through the air, synchronized moving/ shifting to the left or the right, keeping their triangular formation and then gliding down to skim the waters surface for a minute or two, all in tandem, as they navigated to their destination on the point.

It was so perfect. So free. So harmonious.

I got home and googled how ducks do it?  How do they sense each others small cues mid flight to stay in such perfect triangular formation? It turns out, according to National Geographic,

“As a bird flaps, a rotating vortex of air rolls off each of its wingtips. These vortices mean that the air immediately behind the bird gets constantly pushed downwards (downwash), and the air behind it and off to the sides gets pushed upwards (upwash). If another bird flies in either of these upwash zones, it gets free lift. It can save energy by mooching off the air flow created by its flock-mate”.

Who knew?!

I think being a bird would be so magical.

I see ducks as feeling:

• Free as they glide through the air
• Calm
• At Peace
• Silly, playing in the water
• Independent and empowered being able to find and dunk for fresh fish.
• United and loyal as they peruse around the lake and shoreline with their ducklings and family.

Ducks you rock.