OHIO-BIRDS Archives

September 2014

OHIO-BIRDS@LISTSERV.MIAMIOH.EDU

Options: Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Reply To:
Date:
Wed, 24 Sep 2014 13:05:39 -0400
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (31 lines)
Greetings Bird Enthusiasts,

Autumn is typically a time of reflection for me and I have been reflecting on my experiences as someone who has joined a larger community of people who share an enthusiasm for our avian friends, and the beauty of the natural world around us.

I have come to appreciate just how difficult this "past time" is.  I suppose that nobody knows just how deep the rabbit hole goes when they get into this, but as someone who has a strong appreciation for working out challenges in an intellectual way, I have yet to experience anything quite like birding.  Grad school is a cakewalk compared to identifying fall warblers or shorebirds.  So much subtlety.  So many environmental and habitat challenges.  So many unexpected ethical questions.  So much soul searching when uncertainty trumps the desired result. 

I appreciate the people that I have met and the help I have received from so many.  So much passion.  So much, at times, obsession.  Calm heads.  Hard-charging chasing.  Some who seldom utter a word.  Some who utter too many.  Intellectuals.  Poets.  Artists. Scientists.  Young.  Old.  Renaissance women and men.  Those who go with the flow and those who cannot help but go against the grain.  I appreciate them all.  I hope that I say ‘thank you’ enough to those who have so kindly given their time and knowledge to me.  My gratitude runs deep and I often wonder why I should be so fortunate.

I now better understand the difficulties faced in a world of growing social media.  So much potential, yet so many unexpected and unforeseen consequences.  I am someone who appreciates a dialectical approach when in conversation, whether that is in person or in media such as this.  I have learned that not everyone appreciates that approach and this is fine.  It’s easier to smile and look at the birds than to change a mind, mine included.  I have not always been as diplomatic as I could have been and for that I’m sorry.  My love of digging deeper into the reasons for something are not always effective or appreciated and I am learning to adapt to those around me.  I am growing as a human and I make mistakes along the way.

I am proud that through my photography I have introduced friends and family members to a world around them that they were barely aware of.  I am also proud of the days when I have left the camera at home and just walked quietly, watching and listening.  Being fully present with no agenda.  No goal.  No list.  Just me and the world around me interacting with as much peace and compassion as a human can try to know.  Sorry to the tiny unseen creatures that fall under my steps…I am only human.

There are days that I despair.  I fear for the fate of our natural world.  I fear for the fate of our avian friends when I read that 314 species of birds are on the brink of disappearing in my lifetime.  I get angry and frustrated when I see thoughtless actions that create harm.  Yes, sometimes I despair, but more often than not I am able to pull myself back from the darkness and see the good that people are trying to do.  Awareness brings progress, though sometimes it is glacially slow and invisible to the mortal who, if fortunate, gets a 70-year ride on this planet.  I encourage anyone who has read this far to move out of the darkness that says that the challenges are too great and move into the field of action.  However small that action may be, it can create changes that you may never even know in your lifetime.  Give money if you can.  Give time if you can.  Educate if you can teach.  Share your passion and skills with someone new.  Be the change you want to see in the world...

Happy birding…

Jon Cefus
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio


______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.


You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]

ATOM RSS1 RSS2