What the Swan Taught Me

I met the swan up-close and personal, one very hot summer day.

I was in search of the closest beach to dip my feet.

Being surrounded by water I thought how hard can this be to find a beach, even if I was in the city?

It did prove hard to find one close, let alone one you can swim at.

Yet my search brought me to a ‘hole in the wall’ type beach in Queens.

That’s where to my heart's happiness, I met more than just water, I met the two Swans.

Their majestic large white bodies made the polluted ocean look somewhat magical.

They were a shining a glimmer of hope that, maybe animals and humans can live together in peace.

I said inside my head, maybe it isn’t all that bad when there is a sparkle of beauty mixed among all the trash and poverty.

The graceful swans didn’t seem to mind their surroundings.

They made me feel I could be happy too, no matter what trashy situation I found myself in.

Although I didn’t feel safe swimming in the water, I was happy at least some creatures could live in the water.

I had hope that day that if two love birds can live in this hellish environment of 24/7 activity and intense capitalism, maybe we all could too.

Where so many can’t afford homes, and even the two birds themselves barley had a home too.

The swans were a glimmer of hope to me that life will find a way.

And that nature’s beauty can appear anywhere, even in one of the biggest cities.

I felt and grew a connection to the swans.

I took pictures and was happy admiring them.

I grew found of them; they were the biggest bird I had ever seen.

The water cooled my feet while the swans cooled and refreshed my mind.

The beauty in the chaos.

The “life goes on…even when everything else is wrong”.

The mindfulness release that allows you to prove you can find peace and beauty anywhere.

They gave me hope that it is going to be alright.

I left the swans after many hours of smiles, admiration and dozens of pictures.

I took my time at the small beach.

I needed time to reconnect with nature and life.

Animals make that connection to life deeper, happier and hold lessons for us humans in everything they do.

We must be smart enough to listen and observe and learn from them.

Most humans are not connected this way.

That’s why we are at where we are at.

Chaos, insensitivity, harm, death and colliding chaos and maltreatment of humans and animals down to the littlest of the bees and the silent but vitally important whales.

We all have a soul.

The animals will speak to you if you listen.

Even the fish on your hook is hoping you take a different look.

I went home happy and fulfilled by something free and worth more than all money.

A connection to the world and these beautiful birds who gave me hope without ever telling me a word.

Who else can speak to you without uttering a word other than God?

Fast forward a few months, to when I went back to my new home.

I was ‘homeless’ just as the birds were, when I visited the swans before.

But not anymore!

I had finally been ticked off the veteran list for housing and found myself a happy home.

In the middle of the ocean and surrounded by views of the water. I was so happy to have a home.

I got to my apartment eagerly, with no furniture but only the window to look out.

I looked out the window and saw across the way, to the other bank of the canal, my beloved swans.

I hadn’t realized that I had been there before and I had a view of my hole-in-the-wall beach.

I was renting an apartment with a direct view of my favorite two swans!

I was so happy to see my long-lost friends; I had not seen or thought of them since then.

What a blessing and a reassurance that I was meant to be here.

My friends are nearby and I can watch them anytime.

I knew life would be alright.

Just a simple sign, held much on my soul.

In this hellhole of destruction, pollution and death, the birds being a small sign of peace and hope held more weight than it probably should have for me.

Because soon, life would strike.

Life always has a way of coming around and striking your ‘perfect’ vision of life down.

My Swans with their symbolic sign of life, beauty and peace would turn into a sign of the reality of human nature and the harshness of life.

The beautiful Swans would quickly turn into the flip side of the of life coin and drastically turn into the death penny.

I cry as I write this because my hope for life left me when the day the Swan died.

Someone killed one of my Swans.

They were not just only my special Swans, but the entire cities.

They stood as the last glimmer of beauty left in the shit hole of a polluted city to anyone who had eyes to see them.

I didn’t find out from watching them die, I found out on a social media post.

Somebody else was watching them die.

A crazy person threw a rock at the swan, killing it.

Did they have to take the last peaceful symbol we had left?

Do they hate peace that much they can’t stand to see it when it swims peacefully in front of them?

Taking the only beauty away to me that was left in the city.

They not only took the love away from me, but the one lonely Swan.

Taking the love of the other Swans life away.

Swans mate for life.

The solo Swan now is all alone.

Just as I feel, all alone.

The Swans were a sign of encouragement for me…to keep going.

They were my symbol that love still survives and there is some good left here in life.

But someone took the Swans life.

The pain of the rock might as well have hit me too.

What is wrong with people? Where they arrested for animal cruelty or cheered on by-standards?

How do I move on from such a blow to my heart?

How do I keep hope alive when even the most gentle, beautiful, peaceful creatures can’t just live peacefully and survive?

Life must go on.

My lesson was learned.

Sit here and die with the swan or just move on.

As simple as it sounds and cold, life is not here for us to feel.

The “feel” is what isn’t real.

Feeling sad and angry would kill me constantly.

Pain is the only constant.

Love is the only thing not guaranteed.

Compassion is not the norm and seems never be around when you feel you need it.

Death is the only thing guaranteed.

Although we feel better with love and kindness, it’s this longing for love and longing for happiness that hinders us.

Expecting things never to go wrong.

Becoming a mess when things break and people and animals die.

If you believe like me and know there is another life to live after this one, then we are all put here to rebirth and start over.

Even the swan must die to live again.

Do I let the swan’s death be the death of me?

Am I taking life and making it sad myself?

Should I not assign negative value to death?

Is death the prize when you have been abused while living?

If you don’t assign value to death than are you to equally not assign value to life and living?

How do I keep living after my Swan is gone?

I will sorely miss the swan.

Goodbye Swan.

Thank you for sharing your beauty and essence.

I hope this world learns a lesson from you and is easier to you, you’re next time around.

The lesson you taught me were beautiful.

Peace.

Peace in the middle of chaos.

Peace in the middle of death.

And peace is made in your heart, not found around you.