Living in a climate that has four distinct seasons, I get to witness the expansive array of wonders that are created throughout the year.  A walk along my favourite hiking trails presented a learning lesson to me about the profoundness of using our intuition to guide our actions.  A lesson instilled in me by the presence of an empty birds nest.

Three life lessons we can learn from this empty birds nest
Photo: Danielle Joworski

1) Rely on Your Intuition

Birds are not given instructions on how to build a nest.  They rely on intuition and ‘knowing’ when building it.  There are no blueprints or manuals.  No supervisors or technical crews overseeing the activity.  A nest is built twig by twig, and sometimes incorporates random materials that we, as humans with rules and perceived boundaries, might not see as being useful.  To the bird however, each strand of string or blade of grass plays an integral role in the overall structure of the nest.  And nests last.  Even after the leaves have fallen in autumn and the snow has started to bear its weight on the twigs and string, nests still exist.

2) Trust Your Instincts 

How amazing would it be if we trusted our own instincts like the birds do, and created who we are based on instinct and ‘knowing’?  Not from beliefs that were based on other people’s opinions or ideas of who we should be or what we should do, but from listening to a part of ourselves that is omnipresent and for most people, a part of ourselves whose existence is not noticed or tended to.

3) Be Your Own Creator

We do not have any less ‘knowing’ capabilities or intuition than a bird does.  The difference is that we have an ego; a mind that becomes tarnished and corrupted, our true self hidden underneath layers of doubt, hardship and false beliefs.  We possess the same ability as the bird to create something from nothing, allowing ideas and thoughts to guide our actions and behaviours.  The ability to use our sense of feeling instead of thinking, to allow ourselves to be our own creators.

The lesson I learned from my walk that day was that I too am capable of creating something from nothing, if I trusted what I innately knew and disregarded what I had been told to believe.  That when I create something, it can survive the toils and elements of whatever nature threw at me, sharp words and judgement from others, in place of ice pellets and wind storms.  I learned that when you create something that is instinctual to who you are, its infinite strength comes from the knowing belief that it was made through my own creation.

Categories: Wellness