3 Lessons About Safety, Support and Encouragement

The other morning I was in my home office when the birds started making a huge racket outside. It went on for 30 seconds before I got up and went to the front door to see what was going on. 

I opened the door and saw a baby robin sitting on the top step of the porch. A few feet away, behind the bush, was a cat. It was crouched and ready to attack. No wonder the birds were so noisy. They were trying to save the baby. I shouted and the cat ran away.  

The robin had gotten there from the nest on our neighbors downspout about 20 feet away. Who knows if the bird was told by its parents “time to leave the nest, buddy” or it felt that’s what it needed to do because that’s what his brothers and sister had done.  

Not knowing how much time we had before the cat came back I started to encourage the bird. I told him, “You can do it.”

After hearing it a few times the bird finally looked back at me. Reassuring him, “You can do it. Come on.”

The bird stood up on it’s legs and gave one flap of its wings. He looked back as if to say, “did you see that?”  

“Come on. You can do it.”

The bird chirped. Then it stood on its legs again and flapped its wings a few times.

“You got it.” 

The bird looked back at me again. He was building his confidence.  

“Come on. You can do it. Let’s go.”

The bird got up on its legs, leapt off the steps and flew into the tree in front of the house to be with the rest of his family. 

“You did it. I’m so proud of you.”

The entire encounter took four minutes. 

With everything that’s been going on it felt good to help another living creature and save its life. It was a good reminder that it doesn’t take a lot to offer help.  

Here are three lessons I learned about safety, support and encouragement:

1) Create a safe space to learn – Most situations aren’t going to be life and death like this one, but we all need a place where we feel safe to make mistakes and to take our time to develop. The bird had less time than most of us because learning to fly was urgent for survival, but once the cat (distaction) was gone the bird could focus. Can you create a safe space to learn? Where would it be? What does it look like?

2) Provide encouragement – The robin sat on the step for a while; as evidenced by the numerous bird droppings around it. Left on its own it stood there, lost. With a little encouragement the bird knew it wasn’t alone. It was able to regroup and focus. Who can you encourage right now? Is there anyone you know that could use a little encouragement?   

3) Be prepared to have someone’s back – We all need someone to be there for us no matter what. Who would you call on if you needed someone? Luckily, I was there for that bird. If I wasn’t there, I’m convinced that bird would have been snatched up within seconds. Who haven’t you talked to in a while? Reach out to them. Let them know you’re thinking of them and that you are there for them. With so many of us working from home we can feel alone at times. We’re not.  

The bird didn’t know it could fly until it flew. The mechanics of flight were there, but it didn’t know how to use it. All it needed was safety, support and encouragement.

I’m thinking of all the recent high school and college graduates and what they must be going through right now. They might not know what to do and could use support right now. The future is never certain, but it seems less so now. 

Who can you reach out to? Reach out. 

What encouragement can you give? Give it.   

The help you offer might not save a life (although, I wouldn’t count that out) but it might help someone fly. The bonus is that the help you give will positively impact your life too.