Hummingbirds Can’t Walk

I only recently became aware of the fact that hummingbirds do not possess the ability to walk. I was surprised and a little shocked by this fact. After all, here is a creature whose acrobatic flying abilities are astonishing.  I mean, these little guys can actually fly backwards and are the only species of our feathered friends that can!

Being armed with this newfound knowledge, although an interesting fact, hasn’t changed my opinion of them in the least.

I still find them quite entertaining and look forward to their twice-yearly visits to our backyard feeder.

I don’t watch their frenzied darting hither and fro and feel sorry for them because I know they aren’t able to walk.

I don’t watch them perch briefly and long for them to develop the ability to put one tiny foot in front of the other.

And, I seriously doubt that they hang their little heads in shame when they see other birds strolling along happy as they please. How much less enchanting would they be to their audience if this were the case?

The point of all this, for me at least, is that we can all become so hyper-focused on what we can’t do, that we lose the beauty and the bounty of what we can do. Instead of bathing in the glow of our abilities, we drown ourselves with our inabilities. Does this reality make you or I horrible people? Of course not. But it does tend to limit what we do with our abilities and in turn limit what we do with our lives.

I am guilty of this to the point of embarrassment at times.

My sincere hope for you today is that you will appreciate what you have and continue to build on that. It’s always easier said than done, but once you start it will be hard to put your feet back on the ground.

And after all, who wants to walk when they can fly?

My Name is Rob Poindexter. I am a writer, storyteller and boat buyers consultant, currently living in N. Padre Island, Texas.

With a background in the marine, automotive and careers industries, and a knack for witty storytelling, I have written content that has been picked up by global, B2B and B2C media.