Hummingbird:
Messenger of Joy
For me, there is no more joyful indication that winter is over than the return of the hummingbirds. One of my favorite warm-weather activities is to sit outside in the evening and watch their graceful acrobatics.
As teachers of joy, their lessons are many.
Although hummingbirds eat small insects, they require nectar as fuel, and in gathering this they pollinate flowers in a mutually beneficial relationship.
Because of this, many cultures associate hummingbirds with the healing properties of flowers and herbs.
I find also that in meditating on Hummingbird I think of flower and other essences. The vibrating hum of its wings and its lightness seem to symbolize the subtle energetic healing which essences can provide.
Its physical lightness serves as a powerful reminder for us to lighten up. When we are heavily burdened with worries and fears our spirits cannot soar. Hummingbird deepens this message with its rainbow-iridescent feathers which have caused some species to be named after precious stones (such as the ruby-throated species).
The hummingbird is unique in that it can fly not only forward, but backward and sideways. It also has an unusual hovering pattern, and can move its wings in a figure eight pattern -- a symbol for infinity.
This flying pattern also has meaning for us. So often, we find ourselves stuck in time: lost in regret about or longing for the past, or hoping (often without much true hope) that the future will be better, hanging our dreams on a distant cloud.
Hummingbird shows us how to re-visit the past for the purpose of releasing it instead of being caught in a permanently backward flight pattern. It also helps us to see that if we step aside we may see our life differently.
Hummingbird teaches us to transcend time, to recognize that what has happened in the past and what might happen in the future is not nearly as important as what we are experiencing now. It teaches us to hover in the moment, to appreciate its sweetness.
Hummingbird tells us to drink deeply of the nectar of life.
Love Always
mudra