Birds
A pair of blackbirds has been breeding on my balcony, yesterday the little ones hatched. Five mini birds in my flowerpot, beaks constantly open, some dried grass as a base, mom almost always sits on it, keeps her children warm, dad is looking for worms in the garden, brings almost endless supply.
At first we (my girlfriend and I) thought that birds had been looking for food in the flowerpot, perhaps scattering the soil on the balcony, making a mess. At first we almost overlooked the nest, then we did not notice anything as such, until we noticed the constant coming and going on the terrace, then we looked more closely. A bird's nest, first with one egg, the next day there were then two, always a new egg per day, until there were then five pieces. The mother is constantly brooding, not two meters away from my desk chair, the birds seemed to have no fear of us. Strangely, they trust us completely, I whistle, they respond, quickly we have become the foster parents for their offspring.
We put water, bought bird food, we give them rice and bread, we watch the pair of birds intensively.
Now the interest awoke, we researched on the Internet, little was found about a friendship between people and blackbirds, but it has become a togetherness, similar to a pet there is a kind of common understanding.
Watching how the animals touchingly care for their children, how the couple also works together and sticks together, it's magical, much like a married couple also raising their children.
The pair of birds made us think more deeply about the different living beings, and how much obviously also animals have emotions and feelings, the interaction of the pair of birds speaks for itself. And if even small birds have such emotions, then larger animals even more so.
And we humans think to have the right to rule over all other living beings, to make them usable for us, which is why we also speak of farm animals, which we can use, kill and eat, throw away or torture, just as we like.
Now if we were the poor pigs in the enclosure, had found a partner in "captivity" (another poor pig), and then another living being (a human being) comes and takes our (beloved) partner to slaughter and eat him, how would our feelings be there? And that animals have such emotions is clear (at least for us) by the example of the bird pair, only one makes even otherwise no thoughts about the animals, apart from the so much "loved" pets once.
We now eat almost exclusively vegetables.
Looking at the birds is (as I said) magical, the journey is the destination!

Who sees appearance as appearance and the being as being, penetrates up to the core of the truth, has read the right track
- Buddha - "The Enlightened One

Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)