Trash Palace and a Shining Cuckoo

Today is one of those breath-takingly beautiful days we get here in Wellington which remind us of just how lovely this often wind-blown, cloudy and cool location can be.

I loaded the car boot up with unwanted items and headed to our local recycling depot in Porirua called Trash Palace.

As I was getting back in my car I was startled to hear the song of a Shining Cuckoo. I had been thinking about this bird a lot over the past week as I had heard more Grey Warblers singing again around my home. If my memory serves me correctly it usually a little later in the season when I hear the Shining Cuckoos near here.

However I found the following article and note that September is often the time for the Cuckoos to return to NZ from their wintering over in Pacific Islands. This link also features an audio of the lovely song of the Shining Cuckoo as well as lots of new information about its habits, its preferred foods and the remarkable job it does keeping our lovely kowhai trees in excellent health.

Nature brings balance through symbiosis and I have a greater appreciation now of the Shining Cuckoo and its welcome, unique song.

Kowhai trees

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Timesick

I was reading a blog post the other day and the woman described herself as “time-sick”. What did she mean by this? Well the feeling she experienced in her being was the same aching we might feel when we are “home-sick”. That yearning ache to be back in our own familiar house, environment, culture, society, homeland.

Time-sick was more about leaving a period of time behind or reflecting on past times and missing the familiar things and people. I liked the term time-sick as it seemed to capture some of the feelings I had been experiencing in the past few days.

I have been reflecting on better times. Times when employment was less frustrating, more productive and more financially rewarding. I have been reflecting on busier times when my role was more defined and when my plans were being fulfilled. And I have felt the tug of yearning so similar to homesickness.

Change is the a certainty we live with and we are called to adapt to it at an increased pace right now. Or at least that is how it feels.

It is important to acknowledge the feelings that arise but also important to heed the wisdom of Heraclitus when he said

“No man ever steps in the same river twice; for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”

It is about finding new ways forward, building on the past. Seeking new solutions to new challenges.

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