I found a photo of a man holding an empty hummingbird nest–it does not even span the length of two segments on his finger! The only word that came to mind is “vulnerable.” I hadn’t realized how small the nest I’ve been watching on the video cam really is.

Now, whenever I’m feeling vulnerable–a feeling that, by its nature, comes and goes–I remember this tiny hummingbird nest and the even tinier hatchlings. The baby hummers are eight days old. They don’t really have feathers yet, although a covering is developing–they are little vulnerable bags of rapid breath. The whole nest rocks from the pulse of their breathing. They raise their heads and open their bright gold beaks begging for food, they defecate, and sleep. If mama bird doesn’t return, they quickly die. In the same way, every moment we are open to the rawness of life. Truer than that, we are life living vulnerability. That’s how life is.

PS Just saw a brief youtube video of the orphan hatchling, named Pip, being added to the nest, and Phoebe, the mother, adopting him within minutes. Amazing! For your watching pleasure –three minutes of delicious vulnerability.

© Amrita Skye Blaine, 2013
photo credit