I Listened to an Ostrich

[The Listening World is stepping forward while I, Chris Martin, am intentionally and jubilantly stepping back, along with my fellow teaching-writers, so that the neurodivergent writers we work with can present their work more directly.]

This week’s dispatch comes from Mark Eati, who writes: “My love for neurodivergent learnings inspires me to sense the energy bodies of birds and animals. I include them in my experiments with the laws of nature.” 

On Ostriches

Strangely, I feel like one. I listened to an ostrich, which explained to me how deeply it thinks. Its heart space is surrounded by love and beauty for their families. They even remember their siblings after they have long moved on. Nature does not see humans better than animals, but we forgot our place and we assumed the animals were less intelligent than us. The beauty of my neurodivergent brain is that I have the skill and heartfelt desire to know, learn, and include them in my heart, either in reality or virtually. It inspired me to consult with all animal species what they most value about how they are wired. 

I resonate the deepest loss of nature. I question the imbalances we created in an attempt to simplify and uplift humanity. What if they did the same back to us? How do we better honor our fellow beings while also building humanity? How do we create less stress and anxiety for them? How do we simply be to fully speak to them? How do we love them back to the extent they send love to us?