This spring, for a month, a tiny bird began flying into and hitting my window. It seemed to be motivated by something, flying over and over into the window. This would go off and on, tirelessly for hours at a time, at different windows in the house, always from a ledge.
As days passed, I noticed the bird was only flying into windows with tinting, which was like a mirror. I read that in the spring, male birds fight with other male birds to mark their territory and protect their nests. The bird was thinking it was fighting off another bird!
I was concerned it would hurt itself, but realized that harm would only come if it flew at high speed.
Witnessing this made me think about the ferocious protectiveness that parents have towards their homes and children.
Parents tell me they worry about their children’s safety. The modern world, especially for teenagers and young adults, is filled with pitfalls and danger. The internet and social media alone has caused so much pain. Young people feel left out of social gatherings, send unkind messages to one another, share inappropriate videos, and obsess over their appearance. They know this causes suffering yet they are unable to unplug from it.
If you are a teen or young adult and you feel your parents are overprotective, try to think about it from a different perspective.
Think about that father bird flying into the window over and over again for hours at a time to protect his vulnerable baby birds from harm. It is human nature to protect those we love. I hope that the young generation can understand what is behind what they perceive as parents’ overprotectiveness, and learn to use discrimination when they make choices as they go out into the world.