The Commonality of Creatures

The Commonality of Creatures or Every Being Wakes Up Hungry 

Written and published to public media August 2, 2020

Pouring myself a fresh cup of coffee from my Mr. Coffee machine, I retreated to my front porch deck to take in the morning sunshine along with my coffee. As I slurped the warm dark brew I watched Mr. Squirrel searching my yard for a nut or a seed for his breakfast. I saw many small sparrow sized birds, (I call then twitter birds) but my wife says there are wild finches. They were pecking around looking for their breakfast, too. The several crows who live in my majestic Doug Fir tree were also out. They amble around on the grass, wet with morning dew looking for insects, slugs and other edible creatures. They too are awake and looking for breakfast. I see Mr. Cabbage Butterfly searching the dandelions in my yard, probing for some nectar. He flutters about checking each flower in turn seeking his breakfast. A trail of sugar ants crosses my porch marching in perfect order looking for their breakfast also, which is a crust of sour dough bread in the driveway that must have fallen out of the car when my wife was tidying it the other day. 

As I sat contemplating all this, I realize none of us had any say in our being here on this planet. I just appeared one day from my mother's womb and there I was, a new life and hungry. I see the other creatures around have the same fate. None of them asked to be here. Whether we popped into reality in an underground burrow, hatched from an egg or emerged from a cocoon or the womb, we all wake up hungry and must find something to eat.

I had had an epiphany!

We are all in the same boat. None of us  asked to be here, and we all wake up hungry!

Do we humans have any advantage over the other creatures? Are we superior in any way? Are we better suited to fend for ourselves? Are we smarter or faster? I believe that Crows are not only smart, in fact of the 3,500 species of American birds, they are the smartest, but they can also just fly away to look for breakfast bugs elsewhere. I can't fly away. Besides I'm afraid of heights. Crows may be better suited to survive than I am.  

Birds generally are better suited for searching for food. They fly about, stopping here and there, grabbing a snack bug and then flying off to search another area.

The ants too seem to be better organized. They all work together with a common goal. Finding food even as it drops from your picnic table. Humans do not seem to be as organized or purposeful, so are we smarter than ants or better at finding food? 

I believe each creature is uniquely endowed with its own ability to find its food. Spiders create a sticky trap then wait for dinner to fly too close and become entangled in its web. Wood peckers have a sharp beak and can carve a hole in a tree to look for bugs and then enlarge it for a place to nest. Their brain never gets addled from the constant banging of beak against tree. I have watched woodpeckers in the trees of my yard. Imagine banging your own head against a tree 40 times in a row. Would you not be rattled and dazed and unable to eat? Yes, I am sure we are all unique in our food finding ability. 

For myself, I am quite good at hunting for food. I search diligently, quietly and with a profound stealth as I walk softly through the the aisles of my grocery store which is stacked high with items for my dinner. Can the birds do this? Can Mr. Squirrel do what I can do? No they cannot. 

Aisle hunting is my specialty.

We humans do have an ability that all other creatures do not have. 

It is the ability to help others. 

I make sure Mr. Squirrel has an adequate supply of sunflower seeds placed in a large feeding dish on my front patio. It is in the same place every day and he knows where to look. Sometimes he invites his squirrel neighbors to join him and they eat peacefully, or have the occasional fight but they always have enough to eat. I am happy he does not have to risk his life dashing across a busy street looking for a walnut that may be hiding there in the numerous walnut trees in our area. 

I make sure the twitter birds have enough seeds and cracked corn for their breakfast. I scatter the seeds on the flat top of my front yard fence several feet apart so they can all gather with out fighting. Two sparrows fighting over the same seeds is not a pretty sight but can be amusing.

The Crows have their own special area of my back yard where they expect to find heavily seeded bread chunks and black oil sunflower seeds. I offer 'social distancing' for the Crows too as they can become very food possessive. And very loud.

I leave a few dandelions for the bees and the butterflies to peruse. Thinking about the dandelions as food for the creatures gives me a new perspective on what others consider a bright yellow nuisance to be eradicated.

Now it is time for a second cup of coffee and a piece of buttered toast with honey, for I too am hungry. I return to my front porch deck and have the benefit of watching the squirrels, the birds both big and small as well as the butterflies and a bee or two buzzing nearby. 

In short, I have a free nature show and am one with other creatures seeking morning sustenance. I also know I have exercised my unique ability to helps others. It feels really good. And the hot black coffee is great, too. 

By Don DuPay

Public Comments:

Dude! Let me return the praises you shower on my art... THANK YOU! Captured what I've been thinking and seeing for years... Bob Marley even said it... "A hungry man is an angry man" and that fits. 

Truxton Meadows, August 3, 2020, 9:41 AM