The Limits Of Responsibility - June 03

What are you truly responsible for? Many of us carry the weight of things that aren’t really ours to hold. We worry about loved ones, try to protect them, and sometimes feel it's our role to rescue them from life’s challenges. In today’s 5 Minutes In Nature, Liz watches a family of starlings and reflects on the quiet wisdom they offer — a gentle reminder about the limits of responsibility and the strength in letting others find their own way.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me Liz Scott and it's a little bit of a damper day today. We've had a bit of rain and I've got to say it's really really appreciated. The lane here is damp, The plants are sucking it up I think, Delighted for a little bit of moisture in the soil and it's just a bit cloudier today. And today's reflection is brought about by me seeing a family of starlings and the question I want to ask today or will be asking today is what are you responsible for? So let me tell you about this little family of starling birds that I saw. Our neighbour has got a bird feeder and we often have birds lining up on our fence waiting to go onto the bird feeder and a family of starlings has really become interested in the bird feeder or at least the parents of the family of starlings have been interested in the bird feeder and we've sort of seen them on and off waiting to have their turn on the bird feeder. And then we were delighted the other day because obviously they've been feeding chicks and they were fledglings that were coming with the parents and so the whole family was now lining up on the fence. And these younger birds are sort of brown in colour, They're not quite the glossiness of the starling adults, And the parents were taking food from the bird feeder and and then popping it in the mouth of the fledglings. They still were, They weren't quite ready to go their own way yet, They were obviously at this interim stage of development. And at some point soon those wonderful fledglings that were made me laugh as they sort of crash landed onto the fence. I think it was their first outing using their wings and one of them mistimed it so badly that it landed on the parent because it missed the fence completely and landed on the parent on the bird feeder. And we just laugh to see these, Just what a wonderful little glimpse, What a wonderful glimpse into the world of these young birds. But of course at some point those youngsters, Very soon in the next few days they will be on their own. The parents will have done their job and those youngsters will will move on and find their own way in the world. And I was reminded of a conversation I had with a friend whose young teenage son is involved in exams at the moment and these exams that he's engaged with will dictate whether or not he's able to continue his studies at college. And she's really concerned because he's not working. He's doing as little as possible and then waiting until the deadline before he gets absolutely worked up in his head about all the things he doesn't know. And she can't compute it because her way of operating was completely the opposite. She used to study so hard and learn everything much more than she ever needed to learn in order to try pass exams. So she's completely baffled by his behaviour and feels really worried about him, Like what's going to happen? What if he fails? How can I make him study better? How can I make him pass these exams? And in that conversation I had with my friend we started asking this question about responsibility, Like what is your responsibility and where does the fall that you've done what you can and then you are no longer responsible? And as we had this conversation it became clear to my friend that she was responsible as a mother to encourage her son to create a loving base and foundation at home and to support him as best as she could in studying for his exams. But when it actually came down to doing the work and the study and going into the exam and answering the questions, Well that wasn't her responsibility. She was able to see that distinction and it just reminded me of those parent birds with their young fledglings is in that moment their responsibility was to continue to feed the fledglings. They were helping them find their wings, Helping them find their way in life and then at some point those fledglings, Those young birds are on their own. They are no longer cared for by the parent bird. They have to make their own way in life. The responsibility is no longer on the parent bird to keep them alive as best as they can. So the question today is to ask yourself what do I take responsibility for and am I taking responsibility for something that isn't mine to take. Just reflect on the word responsibility and what it means for you in your life.

Reviews

Thankyou Liz 🙏🏼 the story of the fledglings is sweet and yay for the one who made the soft landing on its parent.
Maybe the teenage boy is finding his own way of handling stress…exams are stressful, as can be being a teenager. Hopefully he makes a soft landing like the fledgling.
🌿🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜🌿