Who Is Watching?

We drove to our tiny country church in gleaming sunshine. As our little car turned off the paved highway onto a rock road leading to our house of worship we were thrilled to observe a Bald Eagle! He was vigilantly keeping watch from the top of a very tall tree.

We occasionally see eagles, but whenever we do, it is a special treat. As we made our way, my mind wandered to the observations my good Mohawk friend, Ralph Brown has made about eagles.

He once wrote about character...Ralph says that character is the way you live your life when you think no one is watching. Most people are good. When they look into a mirror, they want to see a good person reflected in that mirror. People, generally, want to work at self improvement so they can become their best selves.

But we all suffer from the human condition. Sometimes we let go of our good intentions, our best selves and fall into behavior that is less than stellar.

So, this begs this question: How do we hang on to our good intentions, our best behaviors? How do we keep from falling short of being who we really are?

Consider the eagle. The eagle has a wonderful built-in feature in his talons that keep him from falling or being blown off a branch, even as he sleeps. There is a pair of tendons that have ratchet-like teeth the eagle can lock into position as he sleeps. That very mechanism stays closed when the tendons are locked. This is the eagle's way of holding fast.

We humans have a mechanism for holding fast to our ideals. That would be our AWARENESS. We must be as vigilant as the eagle concerning our behavior. We would be wise to make virtues and values a part of our being. As we grow, develop and mature, our ideals will grow with us and we will have greater understanding of our selves and ways to apply our new found wisdom in daily living.

Be vigilant. Be as watchful and steadfast as the mighty eagle.

If this gem from Ralph Brown interests you, his website will certainly strike your fancy. Please visit his site and see for yourself what tremendous wisdom this man has expressed through his pointillist art work. Be prepared to be astonished! http://www.mirroredwindows.com/

Connie Baum