Hummingbirds and Hydrogen Bombs

Including those initially listed as missing or who died afterward from a loosely defined set of bomb-related ailments, including cancers, Hiroshima officials now put the total number of the dead in this city alone at 237,062. -- MSNBC 8.5.05

I spent some time this evening sitting on my front porch petting my dog. I am home so little that I don't get to spend much time with him. He's a lap-sized dog, and it was pleasant to sit out in the cool of the evening on my porch in a rocking chair.

While I was out, the hummingbirds were furiously buzzing around the feeder I have in my rose bed. I guess there were about five of them, and they dipped and swirled, fussing at the top of their tiny lungs. One of them had decided that he was the sole ruler of the six-seat feeder, and he wasn't allowing anybody else to have any of the sugar water inside.

I never really knew hummingbirds fought like that. I always think of them as fragile creatures. They seem to be so tiny; they must be almost glass-like, ready to shatter at the slightest blow. The aggressive little birds poked each other with their beaks and became so involved in their combat that they almost crashed to the ground before one of them broke and fled.

Something about that scene was so metaphorical to me. How much of the current strife in the world is caused by someone hoarding plenty? How many times do people destroy in their single-minded goal for possession?

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. I did not go to Hiroshima when I was in Japan. It was a conscious choice. Just thinking about the magnitude of pain and death that happened in moments and the suffering that continued and continues for generations makes me weep.

It's just another instance of humanity's seemingly endless well of cruelty and terrible skill at creating new methods of destruction. Like the hummingbird at the feeder, we are so good at pushing away and keeping out when we should be sharing. I can't help but wonder how much longer it's going to be before this spiral of battle and fighting causes us all to crash to the ground.