On A Wing And A Prayer

When you live in New York City, you see just about anything, and after a couple of years, I’ve become accustomed to looking a little deeper and discovering the beauty in the face of strangeness. Sometimes, you have to squint your eyes, but eventually, you see it.  

Across the Hudson River, we sometimes take a ferry to Hoboken and enjoy a park with a large lawn and the small-town feel of their downtown area. On our last few summer visits, we encountered a woman wearing a rain poncho and surgical gloves standing amid a large flock of pigeons. With her arms outstretched, the birds would land on her body, and she wouldn’t flinch. A smile expanded widely across her face as each bird, one by one, found a landing spot. Even as I witnessed that grin, I would instantly think about hygiene and how bizarre this behavior was. It felt shocking because it was something I would never do.

My first reaction was judgment. 

Yesterday, on my morning walk with Sami, a young man was sitting on a bench with a pigeon on his head. Upon closer inspection, I witnessed several birds surrounding him – they were sitting on the bench next to him, down on the ground at his feet, and some on his lap. He was as still as a statue. His hands rested in his lap and were cupped, holding what I can only assume was bird food or seeds. 

My reaction –  judgment. 

I continued my walk but changed my tune within seconds as I experienced an epiphany. The creature I was walking, my beloved dog, gives me the same pleasure that this man or the Hoboken woman receives – just different animals and relationships with those animals.

The way I see it, we are all longing for connection. We are all longing to be seen. We are all longing for some kind of peace. We are all human.

And then I couldn’t help but wonder – can we see each other in these seemingly more insignificant interactions and shape the trajectory of humanity? I won’t suggest that relinquishing judgment in these minor scenarios is the answer to what is currently and horrifically plaguing our world. That seems a bit simple. But, what if we each took these small acts of kindness – even the ones that are unspoken – and eventually, we could change our hearts, our minds?  Every moment we offer peace and love, resist the urge to judge, and extend ourselves to human connection, we come that much closer to changing the frequency and vibration of the world. 

And, finally, about the title of this piece. I am not a religious woman. I don’t find myself deep in prayer very often. However, I consider myself spiritual and believe we can alter the world by doing good, aiming to be good, and encouraging others to do the same. I googled the phrase “On a wing and a prayer” and discovered it means “only the slightest chance of success.” When reading that, you might think there is very little hope – I know I sometimes feel that. But, when there is still any amount of hope, there remains a chance for success for the world to change. And, so here is to the people who stand still, arms and hearts outstretched, amid the fluttering wings of pigeons. Here is to the people who see them and recognize the beauty in the world. And, my friends, here is to the people experiencing heartbreak, heartache, and profound, devastating loss. 

Here is to humanity – may we experience change on a wing and a prayer.