There’s an old human saying that ‘opposites attract,’ and I’ve seen it for myself when humans with very different personality traits pair up together on the same perch. And I suppose this also applies to humans and parrots, because we’re not exactly of the same ilk. I therefore treat my human family as ‘honorary parrots,’ and in return, they have to adjust their existence to all of the things that make me, -well, -me! So where do I begin with all of this?
Well, how about the china butter dish? My human family have to keep it in the microwave to stop me flipping off the lid and eating all of the contents. And then there’s the fruit bowl. I love bananas so to stop me raiding them, several towels have to be strategically positioned over the top. And there are more towels which are used to keep my beak away from prime bits of furniture. And there’s one more thing that I have to admit to; all too often, my human family unknowingly leave the house with bright green smudges on their bottoms because I’ve previously had a little accident on their favourite chairs.
Not even Lucy, the elderly labrador is totally exempt. When I moult, and lose my downy under feathers, one of them inevitably finishes up on the end of her nose. And it’s always quite fascinating to watch, because when she inhales, the feather disappears up one of her nostrils only to reappear again when she breaths out again. Up and down; up and down it goes!
On the face of it, you could say that parrots, labradors and humans are totally incompatible, -they simply don’t go together. And yet we all get on fine because we’ve learnt to make allowances for one another. And the thing that binds us all together is quite simply love and affection. Because when you’ve got that inside you, difference disappears. So, I like to snuggle down into my owner’s neck and tap him on the bridge of his nose with my beak, (as I would to a favoured feathery friend). And in return, he’ll stroke me and offer me ‘tickles’ so that I end up purring like a contented cat.
Of course, there’s another old human adage which says that ‘love conquers everything’, and I think my human family and I have shown this to be true. We all need to learn to love each other, despite our differences and faults and our annoying habits. Because, as I’ve said on many occasions, love is the formula for a happier, contented world. All too often, we like to focus on what makes us different, instead of turning this around and looking at what unites us. And nothing has the potential to unite us more than the gift of God’s pure love……
“Christian love comes from an understanding that there is unity of divine origins in oneself and in other people, and not only in people, but in all living things.”
Leo Tolstoy: [1828-1910]: Russian novelist, philosopher and moral thinker).
“We’ve learned to fly the air as birds, we’ve learned to swim the seas as fish; yet we haven’t learned to walk the Earth as brothers and sisters.” (Martin Luther King Jnr: [1929-1968]: American Baptist Minister and civil rights campaigner who was assassinated in 1968).
“…Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”
(Philippians 2:2)
“The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’.”
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