Hummingbird Therapy
One of my favorite living beings is a winged being, native only to the Americas. There aren’t any other birds that can achieve patterns in the air quite like these little sky dancers. I think that they have always fascinated me and that I am intuitively, instinctually aware of their presence. Even before my eyes catch the quick darting movement of their flight or I hear their sweet chirping calling me to pay attention as mother earth’s child of happiness is near. It is the hummingbird. For the Lakota they symbolize joy as Native Americans every living thing was referred to as “all my relations”. A female may have been known as “sister hummingbird”.
Sams and Carson (1988) write about the symbolism of hummingbirds in their book, “Medicine Cards, The Discovery of Power Through the Ways of Animals”, as representing joy. “The song of Hummingbird awakens the medicine of flowers. Hummer sings a vibration of pure joy. Flowers love Hummingbird because nectar-sucking brings about the reproduction of their families. Plants flower and live because of Hummingbird.”
The authors explain the magic of hummingbird flight with, “Hummingbird can fly in any direction- up, down, backwards, and forwards. Hummingbird can also hover in one spot and appear motionless. Great Spirit created Hummingbird to be slightly different than other feathered creatures” (p. 213).
When I had Indian Creek Bed and Breakfast in the California Gold country I hung eight feeders from the lofty log lodge built by a Hollywood producer in 1942 from every balcony that overlooked the valley and the seasonal creek. On one weekend we had guests from Europe who had never seen these little birds before and they stood at the sunroom window as the birds flocked to the feeders. I used then, as I do now a simple sugar and water combination, one to four, and I would fill the feeders daily. The European couple marveled at the hummingbird antics where they would chase each other from the feeders, darting back and forth, straight up into the air and around again. Hummingbirds are capable of maneuvering in directions that pilots envy and would love to accomplish in their most sophisticated, high powered helicopters. One of the hummingbirds dominated his chosen feeder and consistently chased other birds from that one. He had quite a rotund belly for such a little being and we named him “L.P”, short for “Little Poop”. L.P. returned for several years to the same feeder and his branch on the oak tree where he surveyed his territory. It was a wonderful experience to be able to share hummingbirds with the European couple as they are so prevalent in the states that I have lived in, and yet they don’t exist anywhere else in the world except in the Americas.
When we lived in the Oakland Hills we went through a gallon of sugar water daily! The air was filled with the buzz of hummingbird wings, Anna’s, Ruby Throats and the seasonal migration of the brilliant bright red and orange Rufus Hummingbirds. One afternoon while I was sitting reading in the backyard a hummingbird swooped so closely that I felt his wings brush my eyebrow! They were everywhere. When I watered the bamboo they would soar through the water flow, up and back and through again singing their high pitched songs of joy. I know that their presence was recognized by the two women that purchased our home, helping the house to sell so quickly, and I understand that they continue to feed them today.
Several friends have shared their love and connection with hummingbirds. One afternoon while I was looking out a window in my home in Amador City thinking about a dear friend who was actively dying from cancer, a hummingbird came and hovered for quite awhile in front of me in the window pane and then swiftly departed. I knew immediately that my friend was gone, which was confirmed through a phone call shortly after. Another friend shared her experience with a hummingbird that she knew appeared with a sign from a departed friend of hers as well. Her friend had suffered bravely and gracefully with cancer for quite awhile, and during one of their last visits together her friend assured her that she would let her know that she was alright where she was after she had left this existence. A few weeks later while hiking with friends, my friends hiking partners alerted her that a hummingbird was chirping very loudly in a tree upon their path. My friend had been a rocker chick and was hard of hearing due to loud musical career, but when she became aware of the hummer calling she looked up, connected with the loud caller and realized that he friend was letting her know that she was at peace.
In the early nineteen hundreds, a scientist conducted research study noting the body weight of people immediately after they had passed, and the measurable amount was six grams. The weight of a hummingbird is six grams… the weight of a person’s soul as it leaves the body.
When we decided to move to Texas I immediately got online to check if hummingbirds lived in Texas as well as California, they do, and that alleviated some of my angst around change and the unknown. Realizing that hummingbirds could continue to be a symbol of joy through nature in Manor, Texas, and that I could continue providing them with flowers and sugar water to attract them, allowed me to realize that although there would be numerous changes occurring because of the move, I could retain my relationship with Hummingbird and count on their presence for grounding and centering. We have two feeders hanging off the decks at Kumbaya Farm and my therapeutic relationship remains intact with Hummingbird. They grace our days with their songs and winged sky-dances.
Blessed be,
Jay
