Ever since I was a little girl, my father said I was like a hummingbird. Busy flitting from place to place, idea to idea. Which is quite true, and sometimes has been to my detriment. I had found myself that it can be hard for me to focus on one idea, be content in one place. So the balance of being moveable and transient with being still and focused has been a mission for me.
And throughout my life, these magical creatures have let me be a part of theirs. I don’t know exactly why, but about 10 times this experience has happened to me. I am near a hummingbird, and I put out my hand, flat, and the lovely being flits around, and rests quietly in my open palm. To feel that tiny heartbeat on my hand, to be able to watch in awe the colors that blend throughout those feathers, to be trusted enough for a hummingbird to lay and take a rest, to me is just pure magic.
Panama means: Abundance of Birds and Fish
A chance encounter happened again to me at our little farm in Panama just this past trip. The boys and I were playing in the rain, it was a heavy tropical storm. Enough that it was raining through the thatch roof inside as much as it was outside. A lovely blue morpho butterfly and a green hummingbird were flitting through the garden and the birds of paradise. I wanted to show the boys, so I called out- “Cam and Rio come see these wonderful colors of this hummingbird!”
We sat in awe and watched her flit about for a while, even in the rain. I had told the boys about my encounters with these birds, about being able to hold them. So I just opened my hand up to the flowers, and stood still, the rain started to pound down. I stepped under the roof a bit, my had still outreached. The rain started to come down harder, and the hummingbird moved under the roof, checking me out, and then to my delight, she landed on my fingers. Her heart was beating so fast, her little claws holding onto my skin.
“MOM! How did you do that?” Cam jumped in disbelief. We studied her intricate detailed feathers, her tiny eyes. How lucky we were, to be able to be a part of a moment like this. How blessed I felt that a wild animal would know that it was safe to take a moment and faith in this human. And even more, that my boys could witness an encounter I have told them about. We watched in silence, and the rain started to let up a bit. She ruffled her feathers a bit, and in a blink of an eye, she flew off.
What I felt, was that we all need to trust someone, enough to take a moment and rest. To be still, no matter how busy. Take time, to be present. And most of all, take the risk to be fully trustworthy and trust someone completely.
I looked up what the Hummingbird totem means, and I was overjoyed to read this:
Know that it is time for you to aggressively pursue your dreams and make them a reality. Joy is just around the corner – you simply have to believe that your dreams are possible to manifest now. Stop waiting and go for it! Alternatively perhaps it is time to ask yourself and meditate upon these questions: “Where is your joy?”, “Can you find happiness within yourself?”, and “How can you increase the happiness in your life?”
This rang so true into my soul. The meaning of this spirit animal or totem is:
You are a messenger of hope and jubilation. You aggressively seek out those that need inspiration and renewal and bring forth the best in them. You are loyal, playful and persistent. And suggests that seemingly small ideas and concepts often possess a lot of potential and power.
Trust, hope, inspiration, happiness and dreams.
This is what my life focus is.