Stray Birds, Winter Reflections, and the Illuminated Messenger ✨
In the quiet hush of soon-to-be winter, when the world softens under its veil of stillness, my thoughts keep circling back to a phrase that holds deep resonance for me: “Stray Bird.”
Birds—especially in winter—feel like small miracles of motion in an otherwise resting world. Their presence becomes a symbol of reflection and subtle magic. Every visit from a bird, or any animal for that matter, can feel like a message from the divine—an invitation to pause, observe, listen, and honor the fleeting beauty of life, thought, and spirit. These gentle creatures become an Illuminated Messenger during the Cold Moon Season.
The term was inspired by Rabindranath Tagore, who captured ephemeral truths in his celebrated collection Stray Birds. Tagore, the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913, believed the poet’s voice could reveal the essence of reality—a truth we are invited to witness in ourselves. A bird gliding across a winter sky reminds us that freedom, impermanence, and reflection are sacred.
So many poets dive into the world of the Birds
Here is one of my favorites by Pablo Neruda
Bird
the whole gift of the day.
The day went from flute to flute,
went dressed in vegetation,
in flights which opened a tunnel
through the wind would pass
to where birds were breaking open
the dense blue air -
and there, night came in.
When I returned from so many journeys,
I stayed suspended and green
between sun and geography -
I saw how wings worked,
how perfumes are transmitted
by feathery telegraph,
and from above I saw the path,
the springs and the roof tiles,
the fishermen at their trades,
the trousers of the foam;
I saw it all from my green sky.
I had no more alphabet
than the swallows in their courses,
the tiny, shining water
of the small bird on fire
which dances out of the pollen.
As we move into the crisp, crystalline air of the season, we find more space around us—and within us. Winter is a natural invitation to wander inward, to discover what is waiting in the quiet. Like a bird drifting across a pale sky—are they aimless, or simply following a wisdom we cannot yet hear?
Let this tender cycle before the Solstice illuminate your mind and heart, opening space for curiosity, insight, and quiet winter wisdom.
Enjoy the Whole Gift of the Day.
XO,
Jen
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