I believe that the wisest of all human beings are those that learn from the natural world around them. For it’s these humans that can see beneath the fur, the feathers, the foliage and the scales. Perceptive humans don’t take everything at face value; instead, they turn to creation for their learning and inspiration. And yes, they can even learn some valuable lessons from a couple of simple chickens.
Just outside my window, we have a chicken run occupied by Hazel and Clemmie. Compared to parrots, they are not the brightest of birds. They don’t write blogs. They can’t whistle tunes. And they haven’t been to university. Their whole world rotates around finding enough food to eat, laying eggs and have a cosy house in which to roost each night. And if they can have these three things, then they are very happy birds.
In many ways, they are the complete antithesis of human beings. For humans like to over-complicate their world. They allow their systems for work, education, money and wealth to completely dominate the lives that they lead. And the more that humans are able to control, the more obsessed they become with wanting overall control. And when this happens, a great many of them end up feeling unhappy. Because they are after something that is beyond their reach. And this is often the point at which they lose touch with the natural rhythms of God’s creation and with God Himself.
So what’s the solution? Enter Hazel and Clemmie! Simple, harmless and unsophisticated, -yet happy! And they tell us all we need to know about creation. It’s quite simple really. We just need to stop and take a “time out” and then ask the question: “what came first, -the chicken or the egg?” As the answer to this question is “neither”, these simple chickens offer definitive proof of the existence of God, the Master Creator. And the eggs that they produce are a daily reminder that the miracle of life is above and beyond anything that human beings can come up with. So maybe humans need to show a whole load more respect to both chickens and the rest of the living world around them!
“The hen is the wisest of all the animal creation because she never cackles until the egg is laid.”
(Abraham Lincoln: [1809-1865]: 16th President of the United States of America)
“When you see God in small things, you see God in all things.”
(Donald L. Hicks: [Dates unknown]: Current America author)
“Ask the beasts and they will teach you the beauty of this earth.”
(St. Francis of Assisi: [1181-1226]: One of the best-known Catholic Saints who had a unique affinity to God’s creation)
“It may be the cock that crows, but it is the hen that lays the eggs.”
(Margaret Thatcher: [1925-2013]: First British female Prime Minster who served between 1979-1990)
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”
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