Saturday, September 6, 2025
The images of St. Francis have him standing in the forest with his hands out. St. Francis must have been a gentle spirit. He believed that nature itself was the mirror of God. He called all creatures his “brothers” and “sisters,” and even preached to them.
One day, while Francis was traveling with friends, they happened upon a place where birds filled the trees all around. He told his companions, “Wait for me while I go to preach to my sisters the birds.” The birds surrounded him, intrigued by his voice, and none flew away. He is often portrayed with a bird, typically in his hand, held openly.
Birds are “naturally” afraid of humans. Seems “unnatural” for a human to be completely unafraid, right? Well, Francis must have overcome “the world,” like Jesus claimed to have done. Animals sense a certain amount of fear in you. Humans are animals too. But some humans, like Francis, have earned the trust of wild creatures. Imagine that – earning trust.
If you gained the trust of wild beasts of the fields and birds of the air you could gain the trust of Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump, the wildest of savage brutes. You might even be able to lull them into reason, whispering truth into their paranoid ears. Well, that might be a stretch. Let’s start with the “wild animals” in our own, inner kingdoms. Ourselves.
Truth speaks in soft tones. You can’t scare up truth. You warmly coax it up from underneath. We’re all “wild creatures,” and we have to understand how quickly the ego can become unglued and get icy hot. Fear isn’t afraid of itself. Fear is dissolved. Unfrozen and warmed by love. Start practicing locally, with the birds, before you end up across the table from a wildebeest dictator in international peace talks.