On a local beach there was a famous fish and chip shop that people would travel from all around the area.
It was not just its food that it was famous for,
It also attracted wild seagulls that gathered in a swooping gang to make high pitched screaming noises and fight over the golden chips that had been scattered as the people ran.
The young fledgling seagulls followed the flock daily to feed.
They soon discovered that it was so distracting with all the noise of the fighting birds,
The shouts and screams of people,
The waves and the traffic,
That they became completely lost in it.
In fact,
They got so lost in the moment they had no idea why they were there other than to engage with all the busyness.
And they appeared to absolutely love it.
Meanwhile,
Two older,
Wiser seagulls were sat on the ground,
Slightly hidden away from the people,
Gazing up at the screeching flock and shook their heads in disbelief.
Did the flock not realise that if they would help each other to find food rather than fight over it,
Every seagull would be able to eat food that would help them all to survive?
As the day turned into night,
People began their journeys home.
So too the seagulls,
With no food to scavenge,
Began to fly off alone to their nests,
Hungry and without food,
Wondering why they got so distracted by the others and wishing they had not and just focused on gathering food without fighting with each other.
Some even dreamt about it.
And so,
Day after day,
The seagulls repeated this pattern,
Returning to the same spot and repeating their behaviour and getting lost in this grand distraction.
And each time they returned there,
There were less birds in the flock,
Victims to hunger and their lack of focus.
One day,
A young fledgling seagull was so tired and hungry that it could not fly any more.
It crash lands on the ground,
Scurrying for safety under a tall bit of thick grass that grows amongst the sand dunes,
Feeling relieved that it was now all alone,
Away from the noise,
Away from the distraction and fuss.
It was so tired it had to sit.
In a moment of not knowing what to do next,
This hungry little seagull just looked around and began to take notice of every little thing.
It watched legs and feet walk by,
Big and small,
Human and animal.
As it began to take more notice,
Its eyes fell upon the two older,
Wiser seagulls that had been sat there on the floor all along.
These two seagulls looked healthy and happy and relaxed to be together and they had obviously been eating well amid all the noise and distraction of the flock and the crashing waves,
The people and the distant traffic.
So being curious,
The younger fledgling just sat there,
Settled in and watched the older,
Wiser birds and what they were actually doing.
They appeared to be sat in silence,
Comfortable to be quiet in their own company,
Their bodies moving up and down as they breathed.
When a distraction came along,
They just watched it happen from the safe place of where they were sat,
Not getting involved or paying attention to the rest of the screaming flock.
Every time a golden chip fell to the ground,
They quickly and calmly scurried to collect it and eat.
The older birds then returned to sitting and allowing all the noise around to drift away as they returned to their breathing and kept a calm watch,
Waiting for the next chip to happen,
Like gold from heaven.
The fledgling was so engaged with this new approach to survival that it did not realise that it had been copying the breathing patterns of the older birds.
The noise and distraction had somehow become less.
The young gull remained still as a large pair of feet walked past and then there it was,
That piece of gold.
A chip had landed.
Standing quickly but calmly,
It dashed to collect the chip and then returned to sit and enjoy eating in peace,
Without the fight,
Without the grand show,
Just sitting there in the middle of it all.
The young seagull had discovered the secret to its own survival.
It couldn't believe its luck and was so grateful to the older birds that over the next few weeks they became friends and shared food.
As the weeks passed,
Others too noticed the three seagulls and eventually there was a small group that would follow and copy this new behaviour.
While the rest of the flock remained stuck in the distraction of fighting and making noise for no real reason other than being seagulls,
The new group had discovered a better way of dealing with each moment and being with each other.
Something that was good for everybody.
Returning to the same spot day after day,
Noticing how it is to land,
Sit,
Breathe and take notice of everything around,
They found more food and began to thrive.
This group was never hungry again as they always knew what to do.
