Life From Both Sides Now--Attack of the Nesting Terns

© Rev. Susan Karlson
I wrote about the attack of the nesting terns in my July minister's column for the Gulf Coast Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in coast Mississippi. I was walking along the beach in Gulfport, feeling the cool summer breeze on my skin when I noticed a sign with instructions to stay off the beach because terns were nesting there. I walked on the sidewalk, but suddenly noticed hundreds of terns circling above me, dive bombing me as I walked. I looked to see if I missed nests on the sidewalk or if there was another sign. No, no nests, no more signs. The tactics of the terns worked somewhat--they got my attention. I would have walked away completely but I was afraid I'd really step on a nest if I skirted the sidewalk and what righteous bird would nest on hot pavement anyway? Some birds strategically aimed their droppings just to make sure I got the point--"You are not welcome here. Get out!"

I kept checking the cement. I did see one flailing featherless chick-- with wings spread out twice the size of its scrawny little body. All my motherly instincts were to cradle the young one in my arms and protect it from the June heat and the scorching pavement. Ah, but I remembered the birds and their droppings and decided against it. It was their job to safeguard their brood and they seemed to figure I was some kind of large bird of prey.

I thought about the letter of the law which I obeyed. I was not stepping on the beach; I was not in official nesting tern territory. I was doing the right thing and yet...

How like a human to consider how this experience relates to human beings! I was right--the bird nests weren't there on the sidewalk. No danger for them from me really. But they were right too--and after all, they weren't adept at reading signs. There was one little chick there, all alone, crying out in need and they were doing their best to cradle that chick in the way they could--dive bombing the intruder.

We humans tend to neglect looking at the other point of view. We know we're right but from the other side of the earth/sky continuum, they are right too. They have roles to play and every instinct in them is finely tuned to carry out their responsibilities until that baby bird grows up and leaves the nest to carry on the tradition.

Liberal religions like Unitarian Universalism honor the traditions of other religions and diverse cultures. Each person has the right and the responsibility to make their own way down the road of life and we encourage others in their spiritual search. But we are all human and we too get stuck in legalistic thinking. We get entrenched in doing things like we've always done them.

Maybe it's enough that we notice this time that there are two sides with valid perspectives and we take the time to reflect on these matters. Maybe next time we'll consider a different route that doesn't turn flocks of birds into defenders of their region. Maybe, just maybe, this little incident has something to teach us about how we approach one another in our families and our communities. And probably it is equally apt in this political climate in this country and in our relationships with people from other countries. It matters where we walk and how we choose to meet those on the journey--whether two-leggeds, four-leggeds, slithering or swimming creatures or the winged migrants that share this path with us. A little more tolerance and forethought, and a bit less arrogance may change the dynamics enough to make the planet more sustainable and help us consider the impact of our actions and our presence in the web of life. That is my perspective looking at "life from both sides now". I hope it flies!