I was driving to work today and I found myself stopped at a light. On the ground to my right was a really tiny bird with a huge branch in his mouth. He tried to get off the ground three or four times with the branch but it looked like he was really struggling with it. Finally there came a point where he did his little hop-step-jump manuever towards traffic and lifted off at what seemed like it was the last possible second before an untimely death. He managed to clear the cars with the branch in his mouth and fly back across the street with an empty mouth a few moments later.

Now here is where I build some analogies with my life (bear with me, I'm not claiming this is particulary insightful). The bird is trying to build a home for his future. I am trying to build a home for my future. The weight of branch represents the weight on my life of taking a huge mortgage and essentially forcing myself to live in Ann Arbor for next few years. The risk of the cars hitting the bird is the risk of being in debt under the weight of the mortgage and if I can't carry the mortgage I will default on the debt and fall (although the bird is risking much more, bankrupcy in America is like a death). The bird making the running start without looking back represents the commitment that must be present in this type of a decision. Finally, the bird coming back for more sticks shows that building a home (or security or a family) is an ongoing process that really is never done.

But hey, the bird's risk paid off. He cleared the street. He added to the nest. And soon, he's going to be getting laid in his new home. Go bird go.